Written in Fire
by lavandalove
Summary: When a freak accident on a job reveals something astonishing to Natsu and Lucy, the entire course of their lives is altered. Fighting the pull and trying to remain platonic is not going to be easy in the aftermath. Slow burn romance with a lot of denial. Set after the main manga ends but before the 100 Year Quest.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This was originally supposed to be a one-shot, until it decided to get a mind of its own. It got out of hand pretty fast, and I had to break it up. So it'll be multiple chapters. The way this is going I'm having a hard time seeing an end lol. **  
**I hope you give this a chance and leave me a line or two to tell me what you thought of it.**

Lately Team Natsu had been going from one S-class job to the next, working so much and actually getting paid that Lucy had managed to pay her rent a whole year in advance and accumulate a nice nest egg. The only problem was that with all the work they'd been doing she had absolutely no time to even think about spending money. But there were worse things.

Currently the five mages and two exceeds were on a SS-class job, a collaboration with Crime Sorciere to take a huge dark guild out. They had traveled for almost 6 days to reach their destination and once there had almost immediately started fighting. Their opponents were strong, stronger than they had anticipated and they had trouble in retaining the upper hand.

Luckily Jellal's quick thinking had drawn the fight away from the town and they had no fear of injuring innocent bystanders, but the forest they were in posed its own difficulties. Hampered movement was one thing, but the fear of setting the whole forest and them all on fire was seriously restricting Natsu. He could only fight at half power at best and had to keep a constant look out to avoid getting one of his own teammates injured.

His frustrations were quickly rising, especially since he and Grey had teamed up against the dark guild's ace, an almost scarily strong wizard who used Reflector magic. None of their attacks were hitting and Natsu was beginning to lose patience.

Not one to think in the midst of battle, but rather just trusting his instincts, Natsu gathered a formidable amount of his magic power in his lungs. Go big or don't go at all, that was Fairy Tail's motto after all. And Natsu was gonna go _huge_.

The dark wizard was busy with fending of Gray's ice arrows when Natsu jumped up and expelled a Fire Dragon's Roar that was as loud as it was hot. Everyone in the vicinity flinched from the sound and the sudden rise in temperature as a giant ball of flame sailed towards its target. But the enemy was just a fraction of a second faster and managed to dodge at the last possible moment. This left him open for Natsu to land a flaming fist in his face and end the fight.

Gray wasn't paying attention to their opponent or Natsu any longer. He was staring in terror as Natsu's roar went straight for Lucy who was involved in her own battle just a few feet from them. For a long, terrifying moment, Gray was frozen, his limbs wouldn't move and he couldn't get his throat to produce any sound. Then he heard Natsu land the deciding blow and he came unstuck. Not thinking about anything he lunged after the flames and towards Lucy, but he knew it was futile, he wouldn't be able to reach her in time, but maybe he could still save her.

Scorpio, who was fighting beside his summoner, noticed the fires heading towards them first. Lucy was oblivious though, she was too busy fending off three mages with her whip. Scorpio didn't think, he just acted.

With a shout of her name that drew everyone's attention, he threw himself between his mistress and the fire. It wasn't enough. The moment the flames hit him he was forced back to the Spirit Realm and the fire sailed unhindered towards Lucy.

By the time the flames reached Lucy everyone had seen the impending disaster and had all jumped into action. Natsu's shout of her name, nearly deafened them all as he jumped towards her, intent on eating his fire before it could do any damage. Erza re-quipped lightning fast into her Flame Empress Armor and raced towards the Celestial mage as well. Happy shot straight into max-speed mode and dove down towards Lucy.

But it was too late.

Before anyone could reach her, fire engulfed her.

As her terrified shriek broke through the forest everyone could just stare.

Something wasn't right. Lucy wasn't burning.

Natsu was the only one who didn't stop and reached Lucy just seconds after the flames hit her. He sucked them up in record time, even though eating his own fire was disgusting. After it was all gone, he crouched down beside his partner and started inspecting every single inch of her.

Lucy wasn't hurt. There was no single burn on her skin. Her clothes have been burned off partially, and the skin that had been under them was slightly red, but that was all. She was completely unharmed. Not even her hair had been damaged.

It wasn't possible. Natsu had used his full strength in that roar. He was glad, so very glad that Lucy was unharmed, but for all intents and purposes it should have burned her to a crisp. Or at least inflicted severe burns. She'd been hit with the full power of his fire, no one could come out of that unscathed.

Unless, of course she'd used the Aquarius star dress and shielded herself with the Water Barrier. Lucy could don her star dresses at the same speed Erza could change her armor, so it was possible.

"I'm glad you're alright, Luce. I don't know what I would have done, if something had happened to you," Natsu smiled at his partner who only stared blankly back at him. "Good thing for both of us you have that Water Barrier, huh?"

That seemed to jar Lucy out of her stupor and she got to her knees, arms wrapped around herself to conceal what her burned clothes exposed. Natsu had of course seen more of her naked body then she was comfortable with, but that didn't mean she had to put on a show for Crime Sorcière and their enemies too.

"What are you talking about, Natsu?" she whispered, her throat hoarse from her terrified scream. "I wasn't wearing Aquarius' star dress, I couldn't use the Water Barrier. Your fire hit me before I could react. I... I don't understand how I'm still alive."

A snippet from a long-forgotten conversation with Igneel flitted through Natsu's mind. But it couldn't actually be _that_. Igneel had said that it had never happened with humans, only dragons and Natsu was human, he'd destroyed both his dragon and demon seeds when the tumor had almost killed him.

He stared at Lucy with something akin to wonder and horror mixed together. But... Well, it could have happened before he'd destroyed the seeds. His dragon seed had never awoken thanks to Igneel, but it had been there. The potential to become a dragon had been there as well, just quelled and kept under control by Igneel who'd been in his body. The seed wasn't able to turn Natsu into an actual dragon, but it certainly could have done other things that would have been beyond Igneel's control. Still, Lucy was human, so it couldn't be.

All of that was way too high for him. He'd long since forgotten that particular talk with Igneel, because he couldn't really understand it. He was no closer to understanding it now.

"Natsu," Lucy's voice brought him back to present. "What are you thinking about?"

"I, ah... I'm trying to make sense of this. You should have third degree burns if you hadn't used the Water Barrier, at the very least. The fact that you're not either dead or in danger of dying is almost a miracle."

Wendy had reached the pair by then and was conducting her own inspection of Lucy. But there was no single burn on her. Wendy couldn't explain it either, unless...

"Natsu-san," the younger Dragon Slayer started quietly. "Could it be _that_?"

Lucy, who'd just went through the most terrifying experience of her life, wasn't in the mood for riddles. "Could it be _what, _Wendy?" she asked sharper than she'd intended and immediately felt bad when the younger girl flinched.

"Um..." Wendy muttered, turning bright red and started fiddling with her hands. "I think Natsu-san should explain this, Lucy-san."

"It can't be," Natsu cut in before Lucy could say anything. "Igneel said it only happened to dragons, it had never happened with a human. Even if the dragon seed could do it, it wouldn't work with Lucy. She's completely human, she has no Dragon Slayer magic."

"What could never happen with me?" Lucy interjected, irritated that she didn't know what was going on. "Natsu," she growled as much as her abused throat would let her. "Explain. Now."

Natsu wasn't stupid and he knew his partner well enough to know that Lucy was losing patience and fast. If he didn't tell her what she wanted to know immediately, there was no telling what she would do. As much as he made fun of her sometimes, he was also sometimes terrified of her. When she wanted to, she could be scarier than even Erza, and that was saying a lot.

"Well," he started haltingly, not really willing to tell Lucy what he suspected was going on, but also knowing that if he _didn't, _she'd put him through a world of pain. He just hoped she didn't think he'd done this on purpose. Lucy was hard to understand sometimes and as much as he loved her, he really didn't know how to act around her in certain situations. This was definitely one of them. "Igneel taught me a lot of things related to dragons. He told me all I needed to know about dragons as a Dragon Slayer. Once he told me about why there were so few dragons in the world. There were always more males than females amongst them and when dragons mated, they did it for life."

He paused there, taking a deep breath, but quickly continued before Lucy could get even more irritated.

"Dragons have different elements and thus different powers, and it's not that they can choose who they fall for, just like we can't. And they tend to choose dragons of other elements as their mates, rather than their own kind, Igneel explained why, but I've forgotten that, heh..." he trailed off and looked towards the sky. Damn but this wasn't getting any easier. Okay, just out with it and deal with the damage later.

"Anyway, when a dragon finds their mate, they become immune to each other's powers. Say if Igneel mated with a water dragon her power wouldn't affect him, nor would his affect her. What's happening here could be exactly that." There he'd said it.

"Oh, I see," Lucy murmured, obviously deep in thoughts. Natsu knew that the information hadn't completely sunk in yet. When it did... Well there was no telling, but judging by the way Wendy was slowly inching away from the Celestial mage... It wouldn't be good.

"Wait, wait, wait," she perked up and Natsu steeled himself. "Are you trying to tell me that your fire didn't affect me, because you think I'm your mate?"

Not knowing what to say, Natsu just nodded. So far so good.

"Natsu... That can't be," Lucy said shaking her head. "I'm not your mate. We've never done anything that could be even remotely considered _mating_. We've kissed each other on the cheek a couple of times, but that's it, and I certainly doubt something as colossal as choosing your life-mate could be done with a peck on the cheek."

She was taking this way better than he'd anticipated. But then again, Lucy was a smart girl, rational for the most part, and really, he should be giving her more credit.

"No, you're right, you're not my mate, the mating ritual of dragons is somewhat complicated and yeah, a kiss on the cheek isn't enough in any case. That's not the point."

Now Lucy just looked confused. "What's the point, then?"

"Rather than you _being_ my mate, I think that my inner dragon or my dragon's seed has chosen you to be my mate." He really didn't know how to explain this. It's always the same, when it counted the most, words failed him.

"But, your dragon's seed is gone, isn't it?" asked Lucy, now completely perplexed.

"It is," Natsu nodded. "But a dragon's mate once chosen, can't be undone. It must have chosen you while I still had it, and that's it."

"Natsu..." she started slowly. "You're not making any sense."

Natsu laughed a little sheepishly, yeah he wasn't making any sense even to himself.

"Didn't you say that dragon mating also required love?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "That's how the mate is chose. The dragons fall for each other."

"See?" Lucy grinned. "There you have it. This is something completely different. You and I are not in love, so I can't be chosen as your mate. Don't worry about it," she smiled warmly and hugged him. "We'll figure it out, not that it matters. I consider being immune to your fire a great thing."

There she was, his Lucy. Always optimistic and looking at the bright side and always ready to forgive him, no matter what kind of idiocy he's done.

It was the reason, he was certain, that she was his chosen mate. He _was_ in love with her after all. But she didn't need to know that yet. He wasn't ready to admit something as huge as that. Not when she didn't feel the same. He was content being her best friend, even if he never would be anything more. Just having Luce near was enough.

He hugged her back tightly, burying his face in her hair and just letting her nearness sooth him. This was the best feeling in the world.

Lucy knowing his true feelings would destroy the relationship they had, and Natsu would never let that happen, so he'd never tell her.

"You're right," he finally said, with a wide grin. It wasn't even fake. "Whatever it is, it's a good thing. You being fire-proof is awesome!"

She grinned back, and for a brief while everything was alright in Natsu's world.

Seeing that her teammates were okay, Erza turned back to the business at hand, the dark guild. They still had to subdue them. Luckily while her team was worrying over Lucy, Jellal and Crime Sorciere had not let any of the dark mages escape. Now it was time to end this.

"Natsu, Lucy, if you're both unharmed, we still have a job to do," she called out, even if she hated doing it. But work was work.

"Right!" Natsu immediately jumped up and pulled Lucy up with him. "Time to kick some bad guys ass! I'm all fired up!"

Lucy giggled beside him, but nodded in determination. "Let's go!" Golden light engulfed her as she donned her Taurus star dress and Natsu grinned in appreciation. He loved it when his girl was ready to kick ass. "Open! Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!" Lucy summoned Taurus and Natsu grimaced. He hated that damn pervy cow.

With a deafening mooooo, Taurus appeared and immediately turned to Lucy. "Don't you look delicious, Miss Luuuucy," he drawled.

"Hey, Taurus," was Lucy's less than enthusiastic response. "Could you please take some of these guys out?" she indicated the dark mages, scattered around the forest.

Taurus nodded and hefted his battle axe. "Of couuuuurse. Can I get a smoooooch first?" he leaned towards Lucy's face and Natsu jumped up, thumping him on the head.

"No! Now do as you're told!"

Taurus glared at the Dragon Slayer but moved to do his Mistress' bidding. Damn that perverted cow.

"He'll never change," Lucy chuckled and Natsu grimaced.

"Your Spirits, Luce... I just don't get it."

"What?" she asked, cocking her hips.

"Nothing!" he exclaimed, sensing danger in her tone. "Let's get this over with, I'm getting hungry!"

Lucy sighed and shook her head. "Sure, sure."

With that they joined the rest of their team and this time the fight went along much faster. In a matter of fifteen minutes all dark mages were subdued and they were all just standing around waiting for the Magic Council people to come and get them. Jellal and his team had already vacated the premises and gone back to town to find them an Inn for the night.

The Council's detention team arrived quickly and as soon as the prisoners were loaded up for transport and they'd signed the documents needed for Erza to pick up the bounty in town, not to mention their rewards, they set off to find something to eat and a place to sleep.

Natsu and Happy stuck to Lucy the entire time, still a little bit freaked out about seeing her on fire, even though she'd gotten out unscathed. It was the first time since he'd heard about the dragon seed that Natsu was grateful for it.

Lucy had to be his chosen mate, there was no other explanation... Unless of course it was all just dumb luck that she hadn't burned. She'd been on fire for only a couple of seconds before he'd gotten rid of it after all. The best way to know for sure would be to test it out. They'd need privacy for that, and Natsu quickly decided that they should share a room, no matter what Erza thought about it. The red-head was usually insistent that she, Lucy and Wendy share a room and Natsu was always forced to share with Gray. Not tonight.

"Luce," he started softly and she looked up at him. They were ways behind the rest of their team, Natsu walking slowly while in deep thought and Lucy unconsciously keeping his pace. "We're gonna share a room tonight, I wanna try something."

Lucy looked puzzled and curious, but she didn't protest. They shared hotel rooms all the time when it was just the two of them on a job, and it wasn't like Natsu didn't spend the night regularly in her apartment. In her bed with her in it as well.

"Sure, Natsu," she agreed quietly and he grinned.

He knew that their guildmates didn't really understand their relationship and talked about it, often. Lucy was a popular topic for all of them. Guys thought she was hot, and were pissed because they didn't stand a chance with her and girls were catty because she got so much attention. Of course, not everyone felt this way, Lucy was generally liked by most guildmates, but people were strange creatures.

Natsu had heard so many stories about the two of them that if he was a stranger being fed that information, he'd think that Lucy was some sort of floozy, and that he absolutely couldn't keep it in his pants and that they were doing _that_ every minute of every day. It was ridiculous. None of them knew what he and Lucy had.

They had a connection that most people would never understand. They trusted each other implicitly, there were no secrets between them. Well, no aside from Natsu's true feelings for Lucy, but that was neither here nor there. Nobody knew Natsu as well as Lucy, likewise nobody knew Lucy like he did.

Sure, she had a mean temper and a violent streak a mile long, and she came off as a whiny, arrogant heiress. It was the furthest thing from the truth. Lucy was sweet, she was kind, she was nice, full of warmth and love. She gave all that freely to those around her, most of all to Natsu and Happy.

She'd do anything he asked of her, wouldn't question him for a second, follow him to the ends of earth. He'd do the same for her. That's why their highly unusual relationship worked. Unwavering, unquestioning trust.

This was also the sole reason Natsu wanted to find out what was happening as fast as possible. If Lucy really was his chosen mate... Well, he'd think about that when and if it came to that.


	2. Chapter 2

Their arrival at the Inn in town was marked by an argument that broke out between Natsu and Erza when the red-head was booking their rooms. Erza was at the reception desk, with her team behind her as she took over assigning rooms, something she usually did and others simply accepted. This time though, Natsu had other plans and wasn't about to let Erza have her way.

"We'll need two rooms, please," the Requip mage was saying. "One with two and one with three beds if possible." Then she turned to her friends. "Natsu, Gray, you'll be sharing a room. Lucy, Wendy, the three of us will be sharing the other."

That was the end of the matter for Erza and she was already taking out the leather-pouch with the bounty she'd picked up at the municipal building in town to pay the rooms when Natsu interjected.

"I'm not rooming with the Popsicle Dick over there," he pointed his thumb at Gray, who bristled, but didn't say a word, obviously expecting Erza to deal swiftly and painfully with Natsu. Also something Erza usually did and everyone accepted. "I'm rooming with Luce."

Natsu's last statement pretty much sealed his fate in everybody's eyes. Anyone who knew Erza also knew that she would never, but ever let any male room with Lucy. Hell, she even frowned when Lucy let Happy sleep in her room sometimes, and even though he could talk Happy was a _cat_. Natsu would have more luck persuading Cana to stop drinking than getting Erza to let him room with Lucy.

"Never," the Knight's strong, single-word refusal brooked no arguments, but Natsu wasn't backing down. Not on this matter. There were simply some things that were more important to the Dragon Slayer than even his fear of Erza.

"Luce and I are sharing a room tonight. There're some things we need to talk about," Natsu ground out and crossed his arms. Erza mimicked his pose, with a menacing glare.

"I don't care. The answer is no, Natsu."

This riled Natsu up pretty fast. He was used to getting his way and if he had to strong-arm people along the way he had absolutely no qualms about that. When Natsu wanted something bad enough he found ways to get it. This usually meant him charging ahead and tearing apart everything in his way. He knew this tactic wouldn't work on Erza, but he was stubborn enough to try it.

"I'm not asking your permission," Natsu boldly announced and was opening his mouth to say something that could potentially get him killed when Lucy stepped in. The blonde Celestial mage always had a way of handling Erza. The red-head was usually very weak to the younger girl, simply because she adored Lucy way more than she was willing to admit.

"Erza," Lucy started softly. "I love you."

This surprised the S-class wizard so much that she flinched as if struck and a fierce blush covered her entire face.

Lucy just smiled and continued speaking softly. "I know that you want to protect me, I even understand why, but you have to understand that there's no reason to protect me from Natsu."

This seemed to leave Erza speechless, for even though she was trying to say something all that came out was, "I-I...".

Lucy didn't mind and drew closer to the older female. "When I first joined the guild, I heard so many things about you that I was terrified of meeting you. I sometimes still can't believe that you've become one of my closest friends. You're one of the best people I've ever known, Erza. You're also someone I cherish very much. This has nothing to do with your strength as a fighter. What I love the most about you, Erza, is simply that you're you."

The red blush wasn't leaving Erza's face anytime soon, and her eyes were getting wetter the more Lucy talked. And Lucy wasn't done.

"You all here are beyond precious to me. But Erza, there's always that one person each of us holds more precious above anyone and everyone else in the world, right?"

It didn't escape anyone's notice that Erza's eyes flitted to the left, where some feet away Jellal was standing with a small smile on his face. She didn't say anything though, just nodded as her gaze settled back on the blonde.

"That person for me is Natsu," Lucy whispered and Erza drew in a deep breath. "I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that Natsu would never do anything that would hurt me."

Natsu sided up to his partner and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, drawing her to his side as he faced Erza with his honest, open gaze. "The person most precious to me is Luce, that's no secret to anyone," he said with a grin and Erza melted a little bit.

Unwilling to admit how much Lucy and Natsu's words affected her she crossed her arms on her armored chest and turned to the reception desk again. "Just this once," the sternly told Natsu before addressing the receptionist again. "Three rooms please, two with two beds and one with a single bed." The girl behind the desk nodded and handed her three keys.

"Rooms 13, 14 and 18 on the third floor. Please enjoy your stay."

Before Erza could give out the keys Lucy stepped up to her and drew her in a warm hug. "Thank you," the blonde whispered but let go and disappeared up the stairs with Natsu after grabbing her key before Erza could react. It took a while for Wendy and Jellal to snap Erza out of her stupor and get her upstairs. Emotional displays always had that effect on the Requip mage.

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Finally on their own in their hotel room, Natsu and Lucy were a little bit lost. Both knew that there were a lot of things to discuss, Natsu wanted to make sure Lucy truly was immune to his fire before he tried understanding it all, but they couldn't seem to find a way to start the conversation.

This was highly unusual. Neither had ever had any trouble talking to the other, their connection strong and deep almost from the moment they met. They told each other their deepest, darkest secrets, this should be a piece of cake. But the words weren't coming.

After a couple of moments of awkward silence where Lucy stared out the window and Natsu fidgeted with his scarf, the pink-haired Dragon Slayer finally had enough of the uncharacteristic uneasiness. With a frustrated sound that startled his partner, he ruffled his hair and stalked towards her. Grabbing her hand, he gently tugged her to the bed where they both sat side by side, just staring at each other.

Natsu didn't allow another uncomfortable silence to develop, holding Lucy's hand tighter he leaned closer to her, his eyes burning with determination.

"Luce, do you trust me?" he asked, serious like he almost never is and Lucy knew that whatever he had planned could potentially change their relationship forever. If it would be for better or worse... Well that she'd find out soon enough.

"Of course, I trust you," she replied just as seriously and Natsu grinned.

"I had to ask," he mumbled, before sobering up again. "I wanna try something."

Lucy tried not to show that she was getting worried. She trusted Natsu, implicitly, but some of his ideas... Usually it was safer for anyone involved to just steer as clear of Natsu's ideas as they could. She unfortunately didn't have this option open at the moment. So, she could only nod uneasily and trust that whatever he had planned wouldn't result in either of them getting maimed or killed.

Natsu watched her closely and saw her nervousness, but didn't comment. He was just as nervous. He couldn't exactly _tell_ her he wanted to set random parts of her on fire to find out if she really was immune to it. She'd kill him, and if her spirits ever found out about this, they'd _destroy_ him, he was certain of it.

He couldn't back out now, no matter what he had to know if she really couldn't be burned by his fire. If that was the case, then Lucy _was_ his mate, no doubt about it. He really didn't really know what to think about that. On one hand he was happy, words couldn't really express just how _happy_ that thought made him. On the other hand, he was scared shitless. If she was his chosen mate, there was hope that she'd return his feelings. With dragons, mates didn't get chosen unless both were in love with each other. The bond of mates went both ways after all. So, if she's become immune to his magic that would mean the bond had started developing and she could one day come to love him. But she was also fully human, so there was no telling. If she was his chosen mate, but couldn't stop the bond from developing by rejecting it like dragons could, she'd probably come to resent him. If that happened the bond would be broken and Natsu didn't want to think about what would happen to him if that happened. Broken mate bonds were every dragon's worst nightmare.

But this was no time to think about that. Too many questions were still unanswered. First of all, he had to find out if his fire truly wouldn't burn her.

So, without any kind of warning he lit the hand he was holding on fire and watched as Lucy flinched and squealed, instinctively jerking her hand out of his hold and shaking it madly as if to put the flames out. It didn't work, of course, and after a couple of seconds both of them just sat there staring at her hand, still engulfed in fire, but _not_ burning. There was no stench of burning flesh, her skin was perfectly intact and all she felt was warmth, no pain no nothing.

That, at least, answered the most important question at the moment. She truly was immune to his magic. _Now_ Natsu could start worrying about what it all meant.

He didn't get to worry about anything, though because Lucy slammed her still burning fist on the top of his head and he cried out in shock and pain, toppling over and landing in a heap on the floor.

"What the hell, Luce?" he cried out. "What'd you do that for?!"

Lucy had risen to her feet and was standing menacingly over him, still brandishing her burning fist like a weapon. "You idiot!" she shouted. "What the hell were you thinking? You scared the hell out of me!"

"I'm sorry!" he shouted right back. "But I had to make sure you really wouldn't burn!"

"You could have just asked, you moron!" she thumped him on the head again and he groaned. Who would guess that his own fire would hurt him? With her fist wrapped in flames like that her punches hurt a hell of a lot more than usual... Wait a second.

"Luce, this is awesome!" he jumped up with a bright grin and grabbed her hands again. She struggled to get out of his grasp, but he held on. "This is gonna be great in fights!"

Lucy was forced to admit defeat and sighed as she ceased struggling and just made a face at her overtly-excitable best friend. "What are you talking about, _now_?"

"_This!" _he grinned, waving their connected hands in the air. "Next time we end up fighting bad guys I can just light you on fire, like I did on Tenrou Island that one time. My fire would give you more power, you'd be unbeatable, Luce!"

It took Lucy a long moment to remember what he was talking about and grimaced as she recalled their fight against Grimoire Heart's Kain Hikaru_. _That was one crazy son of a bitch. It still was a fond memory for her. Their relationship had changed for the better afterwards. Both had learned a lot about the other during that battle, and Lucy cherished those memories, even though she wished things could have gone _without_ being out cold for 7 years.

The best friends' eyes met in fond memories and for a moment they both grinned at each other. "Secret Attack: Lucy Fire!" both mages shout at the same time, laughing out loud.

"I really thought I was gonna die, that time," Lucy sighed when they finally calmed their hilarity and sat on the bed again, still holding hands.

"And ya still refused to leave, to run to safety," Natsu murmured a small smile on his face, a warm unreadable look in his dark eyes. "You stuck with me until the end."

Lucy's smile turned tender and she moved closer to the Dragon Slayer, laying her head on his shoulder. "It's always more fun when we're together, right?"

A shudder run through Natsu and he expelled a huge breath before he let go of Lucy's hand to wrap both arms tightly around her. "Yeah, it definitely is."

No words were needed as the held on to each other, neither one wanting to let go, to let the moment end. There were so many memories between them, so many moments, words, glances, touches that they never wanted to forget and remembering any of those was like reaffirming their deep bonds with each other.

They were best friends, partners, Natsu reminded himself. Together they'd been through hell and back, literally. He had to trust that their relationship could withstand everything. He had to trust that Lucy wouldn't leave his side _now,_ just like she hadn't way back when on the Island.

That had been the moment of truth for Natsu. When he'd first realized that his feelings for the pretty blonde run much deeper than any of his other guildmates. During their fight against that freak of nature Kain, Lucy had stopped being just a friend, just a teammate, and had started morphing into the most important existence in his life.

He'd never known it was possible to love another person so much that it hurt at times, before he'd realized that he loved Lucy. He wouldn't change that realization for the world, loving Lucy made him a better person, but if he could wish for anything, he'd wish to know that she loved him as well.

Lucy's voice shook him out of his stupor as she snuggled closer to his chest, her arms holding him tighter. "What are we gonna do now, Natsu?"

For once he had no answer ready, no reassurance to offer her, no joke, no stupid comment. He was just as out of his depth as her, just as lost, and twice as worried. Lucy had no idea what really was at stake, and he'd never tell her. This was something he had to figure out on his own and for the first time in a really long while, Natsu felt alone in the world. Having a secret that he couldn't share with Lucy was lonely. Not being able to tell his best friend what was going on in his head made him want to cry.

Not telling her that he loved her as more than a friend was something completely different from keeping something that legitimately _scared_ him from her. His love for her was a sweet little secret, and sometimes he was even giddy when he thought about it. But this, this sent cold shivers racing up and down his spine, made his palms sweat and his throat constrict.

He wanted nothing more than to tell Lucy what was worrying him, to have her tell him that everything would be okay, that they'd face it all together. But he couldn't. He couldn't risk losing her. Not now, not ever. Lucy can _never_ know what he thought was happening between them.

"I don't know, Luce," he whispered into her hair. "I'll figure something out, I promise."

It didn't escape Lucy that he'd said _I_ instead of _we. _He said _he'd_ figure something out, not that _they_ would. Lucy didn't know why, but that little detail sent a fissure of fear through her.

"Whatever it is, we'll get through it," she whispered, trying to reassure not only Natsu but herself as well. She felt him nod, against the top of her head, his hold on her tightening yet again.

"Yeah," was all he said and Lucy suddenly felt like crying.

She brought her hands to his chest and pushed lightly until his arms loosened and he leaned back a little, giving her a puzzled look. She attempted a smile at him, but knew without thinking that it was wonky and unconvincing. Natsu didn't say anything though, he just smiled back, his small and so unbearably _sad_ that she had to turn away after a couple of seconds.

She wasn't stupid, he was keeping something from her. Something that was bothering him quite a lot. The fact that he didn't talk to her about it, left her uneasy, Natsu always told her when something was bothering him, either to vent or to seek advice, or both. He never kept things bottled up. He didn't keep secrets, not from her and she couldn't find rhyme or reason why he would start now. It made no sense.

But she didn't say anything. He'd tell her when he was ready. All she had to do was trust him and that was something she always did.

**AN: And that's chapter 2. I apologize if there're any mistakes since I didn't have time to edit this more heavily, maybe I should look for a beta-reader or something.**

**I'd like to thank everyone who read, reviewed, favorite and followed this story so far. I'm really overwhelmed at the reception it got. I hope you all like this chapter as well.**


	3. Chapter 3

That night Natsu didn't sleep. After sitting on the bed by Lucy's side but feeling like miles were separating them, he'd gotten up and faked a yawn just to do _something._ He could feel Lucy's gaze burning into him as he went about preparing for bed, blabbering whatever came to mind just to avoid the silence. Lucy hadn't said anything, just watched him, her eyes searching. When their gazes had locked across the room at one point, he wasn't able to hold back anymore.

This was Lucy, the strongest woman he knew, the kindest, the most giving, loving human being to ever walk this earth. She was everything to him. And there he was pulling away from her. He was an idiot. But he still didn't know how to breach the sudden distance between them. He'd opened it up, but he had no clue how to close it.

Luckily, Lucy wasn't as clueless, or as hesitant. The moment she'd seen that he'd be receptive to her approaching him, she'd done just that. She'd gotten up from the bed, crossed the room to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her head on his chest almost made his heart jump out of his chest, but he breathed deep and wrapped his own arms around her, squeezing the breath out of her lungs. She didn't complain, just let him hold her as long as he needed.

By the time they pulled apart, Natsu wasn't consumed by the irrational thoughts that he'd lose Lucy if he as much as breathed wrongly in her direction. He was still wired, he was still scared, but he was also determined to find a way out of this mess. He and Lucy would be fine, he knew on some subliminal level that no matter what Lucy would never abandon him, he just needed to make his heart understand it as well.

What they shared went above and beyond anything Natsu had ever seen between two people. There was no way on earth something neither of them had any control over would ever be able to break them.

With that thought taking a huge weight off his shoulders he was able to go about bed preparations normally, talking with Lucy, teasing her and laughing with her. When she snuggled under the sheets, he didn't hesitate to join her. She offered a token of protest, saying something trivial about him sleeping in the other bed, like he was _supposed_ to, but gave up the fight when he simply ignored her and proceeded to wrap himself around her. This was something he'd recently started doing. After the war he couldn't bear to leave Lucy alone for long, so at night he and Happy would break into her room, but unlike before when he'd simply sneak into her bed, Natsu couldn't resist touching her. After a couple of weeks of this, Lucy had stopped being surprised to find him wrapped all around her like a coil in the morning and he'd stopped sneaking in in the middle of the night, preferring to go to bed together with her. At that point Lucy had stopped fighting him altogether and just accepted that he spent every night in her bed.

Even with everything that had happened in the past hours, Natsu was comfortable and relaxed, being close to Lucy always served to put him at ease. In the past several weeks he'd been waking up with a bit of a problem, though. Every morning, without fail, he'd wake up with Lucy's curvy behind pressed close to his crotch, and his inevitable erection would propel him out of the bed at the speed of light. If Lucy ever fully understood what she felt against her every morning he was sure she'd castrate him. Or worse, she'd tell Erza and then the red-head would tear him to itty-bitty little pieces for daring to sully Lucy with his lewd behavior. Neither temperamental female would understand that he couldn't exactly control his body's reaction to Lucy. As if any male would be able to keep it down, when pressed close to all that was Lucy for an entire night.

Natsu wasn't ignorant enough not to know that Lucy was definitely _appealing_, in every sense of the word. He'd went through puberty just like everyone else around his age, he'd just never let it affect him, too focused on fighting everything that moved and eating his weight three times a day to worry about something ludicrous like hormones. And it's not like there were any girls around him to stir up such feelings. All his female guild-mates were like sisters to him, not to mention the majority of them scared him shitless. Lucy was the first girl who woke up his baser desires. All those curves in all the right places, that long golden hair, those shining eyes, her soft inviting lips... Yup, he was a goner, basically from the moment he met her.

Luckily, he was still in too much of an emotional turmoil to think of more carnal things and his body behaved for once. Oh, the temptation was there, no doubt about it. Her warmth, her scent, all the soft, squishy parts that made her so damn tempting in the first place, molded perfectly to his own hard, unyielding muscles were enough to drive a saint to sin, but his mind was stuck on their newest dilemma.

Sonner or later he'd have to break it Lucy that they really were fated to become mates. And that thought was enough to keep his bodily urges at bay. It also kept him from sleeping. Lucy didn't sleep either. They didn't talk though, just lay in that small bed, completely entwined, each too consumed by their own thoughts to break the silence.

When the first light of dawn broke through the windows, Lucy stirred, but didn't move other than to press even closer to him, clutching his had to her chest. Natsu just sighed, trying to mold himself tighter to her soft form, burying his face deeper in her fragrant hair. Neither one wanted to leave the bed and face the day. They just wanted to stay entwined together in the peaceful silence of pre-dawn, forever.

For once, Natsu didn't feel the need to rise with the sun, to greet the new day with a sunny grin and charge off in search of another adventure. He just wanted to be with Lucy, feeling her close to him, breathing in her scent, listening to her heartbeat.

Ever since the war, and the horror of thinking even for a short time that Dimaria had killed her, he'd started to experience moments of pure panic, and only hearing her breathe and her heart beat could calm him down. It was even worse than the nightmares he'd suffered for months after Future Rogue had killed Future Lucy. Because this time he'd seen _his_ Lucy lying dead in a pool of her own blood. Watching Future Lucy die was bad enough, losing his Lucy was a kind of pain and torture he wouldn't wish upon anyone.

It was a wake-up call, really. Fighting Zeref, Acnologia, nearly dying not once, or even twice but countless times in a span of hours and being afraid that if he as much as turned his back one of his friends would die had sobered him up somewhat. It had at least taught him that life was painfully short and that tomorrow wasn't guarantied. Lucy, all his friends, could die tomorrow. _He_ might die tomorrow. Who'd protect Lucy, then?

He needed to become even stronger. Stronger than Zeref, stronger than Acnologia, so that the next time someone threatened Lucy's life, he'd be able to protect her.

Natsu had never considered himself lucky. But he realized that it was only luck that saved them during the war. Luck, that Zeref never considered Lucy a threat, and didn't go after her. Luck, that Lucy was smart enough not to mention brave enough to rewrite the book of E.N.D. and able to execute the Fairy Sphere, and _lucky enough_ to find the book in time.

It was Lucy who saved them all, again. Who saved _him,_ again. Just like back during their fight against Tartaros when she'd sacrificed Aquarius' key to summon the Celestial Spirit King. If she hadn't made that sacrifice_,_ they'd all have died. Why was it that Lucy had to sacrifice something, or endanger her life for them to win their battles? Why wasn't he strong enough so that Lucy wouldn't _have to_ sacrifice anything? Wasn't it his job to protect her? She shouldn't have to protect him.

But she would, anyway, he realized. Lucy loved him, she'd always try to protect him, just like he'd always try to protect her. That's what you did when you loved someone. You did everything you possibly could to never let them feel pain or fear.

It wasn't important which one of them was stronger, in the end. It's not like Lucy would let him fight their battles alone. She'd stand by his side, until the bitter end and beyond if need be. They were at their strongest when they were together, that was something that would never change.

Lucy didn't need to know his true feelings. She didn't need to know about the developing mating bond between them, he'd suppress it for as long as he could. Lucy just needed to be Lucy. She just needed to stand beside him, let him hold her when the dark threatened to bring his nightmares to life. She just needed to _live_. He'd be able to do _anything _as long as he had her at his side.

XxxxxX

The sun was high in the sky when sudden loud bangs on their room door woke Lucy and Natsu from their half-slumber. Feeling sluggish from their sleepless night and the emotional highs and lows of the previous day, both just groaned and huddled even closer under the covers, in no way ready to face their comrades or the new day.

"Natsuuuu, Lushyyyyyy," Happy's voice rang from the other side of the door and they both squirmed, missing their feline companion, but the need to just _be_ won over and they made no moves to get up.

Murmured voices alerted them to the fact that Happy wasn't alone outside their room, but it still wasn't enough to get them up. Hell or high water wouldn't be able to get them up at that point.

Erza certainly could, though.

Slightly annoyed and equal parts worried, the red-headed knight had enough of waiting and just busted through the locked door, startling the pair in the bed and causing them to raise up to their elbows and face their uninvited guest. While Natsu and Lucy looked less than impressed with the interruption, Erza's complexion was slowly but surely starting to match her hair. If one looked closely enough, they might have seen what appeared to be smoke rising from her ears.

Behind her, Gray and Happy had already recognized the volcano about the erupt and were discretely inching away, while the couple in the room just blinked sleepily at the scene.

Suddenly, chaos descended when Erza finally snapped and charged into the room with a sword drawn and dragged Natsu out of the bed by his ear. She wasn't yelling, not making threats of calling him names, just silently seething and Gray shuddered as he imagined just _what_ she could do to Natsu, with the state she was in.

Natsu wasn't having the sudden violence and fought back, clawing at Erza's arm and struggling in her hold.

"Hey, let go! Ow, ow, ow!" he complained loudly, arms flailing and kicking around, but not dislodging Erza's grip. "What's the big deal?!"

"What were you doing in Lucy's bed?!" Erza finally spoke, jerking her arm and with it Natsu's head side to side, almost giving him whiplash.

"Sleeping!" he yelped, almost biting his tongue as she jerked his head to the side again. "OW! Let go, damn it!"

Lucy was also out of bed by then and was trying to placate her irritated friend, but was yielding no results as Erza mostly ignored her efforts and concentrated on jerking Natsu around like a rag-doll.

"Erza, hey, come on, let him go," Lucy coaxed quietly, skirting around Natsu's flailing limbs and trying to get to Erza.

"You should _not_ be allowing such behavior from him, Lucy!" the red-head turned her attention to the Celestial Mage. "I know he's stubborn and persistent, but he has absolutely _nothing_ to do in your bed, with _you _in it!"

Outside the room, Happy clasped his paws across his grinning mouth but a few giggles still escaped. He was forced to swallow them, though when Lucy cut a menacing glare in his direction. Gray meanwhile was having the time of his life, leaned against the door-jam with his arms and legs crossed and a shit-eating grin on his face. That Natsu spent more time in Lucy's bed than his own was a well-kept secret from Erza, one that not even Gray dared to reveal, out of fear what Lucy might do to him in retaliation. He wasn't worried about Natsu, Natsu he could take any time, day or night. But Lucy plainly scared him witless sometimes.

Lucy, still trying to placate to Erza and get her to let go of Natsu who was approaching the boiling point _fast_, paid no attention to Gray and proceeded to try and pry Erza's fingers off Natsu's ear. That was when things went to hell in a hand-basket.

When Lucy's fingers closed around her wrist, Erza let go of her sword and gripped Lucy's bicep. In the heat of her anger, she forgot to check her strength and squeezed hard enough to make Lucy cry out in shock and pain. This made Gray abandon his post and enter the room, ready to do damage control, but it was too late. The moment Lucy cried out, Natsu's frail hold on his control snapped.

With a deafening roar, his entire body burst into flames and Erza yelped, letting go of his ear with a wince. He advanced towards his red-haired teammate, a menacing expression on his handsome face, flames licking at every inch of him.

"Let Lucy go," he ground out, his voice deep and gravelly, like none of them had ever heard it. When Erza didn't comply, just staring at him in shock, he leaned into her face and _screamed._ "LET HER GO!"

Everyone could just stare at Natsu, shocked and slightly scared. Only Lucy could see that his eyes appeared feverish and that his dark irises were slowly turning gold. Alarmed, she tore her arm out of Erza's grasp and stepped in front of her partner.

Something was happening to him, something that had to do with her nothing being hurt by his fire. Maybe she'd dismissed the mates idea a bit too quickly. It would explain so much, after all. But she couldn't think about it, at the moment. She had to calm Natsu down before his instincts drove him to do something he'd definitely regret when he was thinking rationally, again. She could give it the head space it needed when they were back in Magnolia where she had the guild's library and Levy to help her think.

Without hesitation, Lucy wound her arms around Natsu's burning shoulders and pressed her body tight to his. Her clothes sizzled and started burning, but just as the day before, she remained unharmed. Okay, yeah, she'd definitely need to research the mates idea with Levy. Levy, who wasn't just the closest to her own intelligence in the guild and knew the guild library inside out, but was also in a relationship with a Dragon Slayer. A Dragon Slayer that may know a thing or two about dragon mating rituals, too.

Resolved to get to the bottom of this, she just pressed herself closer to Natsu and kissed his cheek. "Hey, it's okay," she whispered. "I'm fine, Natsu. Erza didn't hurt me. Erza would never hurt me, you know that. I'm right here with you, I'm not going anywhere."

Her voice cut through the red mist in his mind and Natsu blinked, his arms wrapping tightly around her, her scent soothing his frayed nerves. He didn't know what happened. Lucy had cried out in pain and something in his mind had just gone _snap_. Things were going way faster than he thought. If his protective instincts were enough to completely obliterate his control and set the tightly leashed beast inside of him free, he was screwed. Royally, so. There was no way he could hide the mating bond from Lucy at this rate.

Igneel had said that once realized, the mating bond developed rapidly. Once both parties accepted it, things went speedily ahead and the need to actually _mate_ would soon become unbearable. But Natsu had not even once thought it would go _this_ fast. He'd only yesterday consciously accepted what he must have felt developing for years. He really was way too dense sometimes.

But if the bond was developing at this speed then Lucy must have accepted it, too. It wouldn't be this far ahead otherwise. So, she couldn't reject it. This wasn't exactly good. His dragon nature was robbing Lucy of free choice.

Things were getting complicated, fast. He really needed to think and probably talk to someone. Preferably not someone who'd kill him, like Erza... Speaking of the red-head, he needed to apologize.

"Sorry, Erza," he murmured, only fractionally lifting his face from Lucy's shoulder and giving the knight his pained, confused eyes. Erza just nodded and turned to exit the room, dragging Gray along by his ear. If Natsu had been looking he'd have seen the other male eyeing Lucy's almost naked state with some interest and things would have gone considerably worse. Luckily, Erza had herded Gray and Happy out of the room and Natsu and Lucy were once again left alone with something possibly bigger than both of them brewing between them.

**AN: And that's chapter 3. I hope everyone enjoyed it. **

**A huge thank you to: GothBanshee, animequeen100, Ember Reverie, Forbidden-Hanyou, MasterGildarts, Morenol, aliciacevbra, Ushindeshi, Daelmagines, Guest:lu, ABT4Life, TheElectricLady, savwafair and vaneanime for reviewing the first 2 chapters. You guys rock!**


	4. Chapter 4

The train ride back to Magnolia was uneventful. It was slightly tense though as everyone retreated into themselves to try to process everything that had happened so far. Erza and Jellal sat away from the group, quietly talking, both with troubled expressions on their faces. Gray and Wendy sat across from Lucy and Natsu, Gray staring out the window and brooding, while Wendy silently fretted, Carla on her lap, her big brown eyes fixed with a frown and not budging from her fellow Exceed that sat silently on Lucy's shoulder and stared worriedly between his two partners.

Happy had been worried and anxious since seeing Lucy surrounded in fire. He'd spend the previous night with Wendy, Carla and Erza and had woken all three females repeatedly throughout the night as nightmares plagued him. It was almost like back when Future Lucy had died and Happy had suffered horrific nightmares for months afterwards. His usually chipper and talk-active nature was completely subdued and Carla disliked seeing him like that, but knew there was nothing she could do. She knew he would brighten up and return to his old self when he made sure that none of the two people, he considered his parents would be taken from him.

Unfortunately, Carla wasn't entirely sure that either of the two humans would be alright. Granted she didn't know much about dragons since Wendy's knowledge was also mostly limited, but from what the girl had told her about the mating bond, things could turn for the worse very soon.

Her gaze, slid from Happy down to the curled-up form of the Fire Dragon Slayer who was shivering with his head in Lucy's lap and moaning from time to time as motion-sickness assaulted him. Wendy had found that Porlyusica's potion against motion-sickness worked wonders with her, but Natsu still remained incurable. No matter how many times the old healer amplified the dosage, it didn't do anything for Natsu. His motion-sickness was as hard-headed as he was.

Lucy had been silent since they got on the train. She simply stared out the window and caressed Natsu's hair in an attempt to somewhat calm and comfort him. Her mind was nowhere near their train as she tried to make sense of everything that had happened on this job. The only logical explanation for all of it was that she and Natsu really were mates. But that in itself was illogical. They couldn't _be_ mates.

None of it made any kind of sense to the blonde. She prided herself on being the logical and level-headed one in a group full of temperamental hot-heads. She could make sense of everything, nothing was too far-fetched for her. But she found herself completely stumped on this problem. She'd talked once with Gajeel about dragons. The Iron Dragon Slayer was definitely the one with more information than her own partner and she'd caught him in a good enough mood to accommodate her curiosity. He'd explained with some detail about the dragon mating rituals. He didn't know everything, but Metallicana had still instilled enough knowledge into his son that if he ever found himself with a mate, he'd know what was happening. Gajeel had said that his dragon father had doubted that Dragon Slayers would ever be affected by the need to mate since they were mostly humans, but he'd wanted his son to be prepared none the less.

The actual mating process was a complicated one, but the mating-bond begun manifesting itself very early on. It would only reach full strength once both mates claimed and marked each other, but it was still strong even in the early stages, binding two dragons irrevocably together. Once claimed and marked the mates shared their _everything_, emotions, thoughts, their very lives. Two became one in every way they could.

She had no idea how this translated to humans and was quite frankly, scared.

She trusted Natsu with her life, but this seemed so much bigger than either of them. Natsu probably didn't have much more of a clue than she did, and with things like these at least one of them should know what was going on. Things like these... There literally was _nothing_ that could compare to this.

Once back in Magnolia, she'd grab Natsu, Levy and Gajeel and drag them to the guild's library. They won't leave there until they knew what was going on. Or at least until they were sure there was no information to be found.

A quick thought flitted through her head and she flinched. For a fleeting moment she'd wished that Zeref was still alive. He'd probably have some answer. It was irrational and stupid. If anything she should wish for Igneel, or Metallicana to be alive, _they_ would know what to do. It was her stupid head that still secretly respected Zeref for his genius that made her irrational.

If Natsu ever knew of her thoughts, he'd lose his mind. Hell, she was disgusted with herself, but she couldn't help it.

They'd figure it out. She had to believe that.

With that resolve fresh in her mind, Lucy let herself drift off to fitful slumber, her mind still racing.

XxxxxxxxxxX

When the train finally pulled up in the Magnolia Train Station and Natsu escaped his personal death trap, things became a flurry of activity. Jellal and his team wouldn't be staying so while he and Erza said their goodbyes a little ways away, the others all clustered together around Natsu and Lucy. Meredy was brimming with curiosity about how Lucy escaped Natsu's fire unscathed.

"How did you pull it off?" the pink-haired girl asked abruptly, staring at Lucy.

"Pulled what off?" the blonde asked, genuinely confused.

"Not being burned when that roar hit you! You should have been toast!" Meredy blurted out and the others shifted somewhat uncomfortably, while Gray shot Natsu a cautious glance. The Dragon Slayer had become even more unpredictable than normally. If he was ready to attack Erza, who knows what he'd do to a virtual stranger like Meredy if she did something he didn't like.

"Well," Lucy started, a look of concentration her face. "Turns out I'm immune to Natsu's fire."

This got a reaction out of the others as they all expressed their shock simultaneously, crowding even closer to Lucy, firing question, one over the other.

"How's that even possible?"

"Immunity to dragon fire? That can't even be!"

"That is simply astounding! I had no idea things like that were possible!"

"Seriously?! You gotta be kidding!"

Lucy paled at the barrage and tried to back up, while Gray tensed and attempted to calm the others down, while at the same time trying to extract Lucy from the middle. They couldn't afford Natsu going ballistic inside the Train Station. If he destroyed, Gramps would destroy them, or worse, sick Mira and Laxus on them...

The last time he and Natsu had gone a little over-board during one of their fights and caused some minor structural damage in town, Mira and Laxus had been sent to 'deal' with them. Gray definitely didn't want a repeat performance from the Thunder Dragon Slayer and the take-over mage, thank you very much. They'd scarred him for life the first time.

But it was too late, already.

Natsu had been clinging to shreds of his control when Meredy had started interrogating Lucy, by the time others had gotten so uncomfortably close to her, anger and possessiveness were reaching a boiling point inside of him. That voice he'd heard earlier in his head when Erza had grabbed Lucy, that shouted, "She's mine! Don't touch her! Mine, mine, mine!" had gotten louder and he felt a strong urge to tear apart anyone who got too close to Lucy.

Rational thinking escaped him, instinct took over and flames licked around him as grabbed Cobra by the lapel and flung him away from Lucy. The others had quickly clued in that they had an angry Dragon Slayer on their hands and inched away from Lucy, while Natsu watched them like a caged beast, ready to attack at any wrong movement.

Then Gray made a grave mistake.

Grabbing Lucy's elbow, Gray pulled her towards him, intent to get her away from the others and hopefully calm Natsu down. He realized that he'd only made matters worse when Natsu's golden eyes flickered in his direction and the other boy snarled showing fang.

"Don't touch my Lucy," Natsu's growl was low and sinister, as he advanced towards Gray who still held on to Lucy's elbow.

This prompted Lucy into action and she swatted at Gray's hand, twisting her arm out of his slackened grip. Natsu however didn't stop, and continued to stalk to the ice-make mage, a maniacal look on his usually boyish features.

The commotion had drawn Erza and Jellal's attention and they came running just as Natsu leaped at Gray, fire coated fists raised. Erza re-quipped into her Adamantine armor, ready to repel Natsu's attack, but didn't get there in time. Lucy, however was closer and she jumped in front of Natsu, spreading her arms wide.

"Natsu, stop! Gray's not hurting me!"

The Fire Dragon Slayer stopped just inches from her face and stood in front of her, his eyes showing recognition, but not losing their beastly gleam.

First when Lucy reached out a hand and cupped him cheek, did he stop growling and seemed to start awake, looking around, slightly confused.

"W-what happened?" he asked and Lucy shook her head.

"You lost control again, Natsu."

Her words hit him hard and Natsu shuddered, clenching his fists.

"Damn it," he bit out. "What the hell's happening to me?"

"It's okay," Lucy soothed, closing the remaining inch between them and wrapping her arms around his torso. "It's all gonna be alright. Whatever is happening to us, we'll figure it out."

Moisture gathered in Natsu's eyes at her soft words and he clutched her to him, burying his face in her neck. "Don't leave me, Luce," he whispered almost inaudibly, ashamed of his weakness, but still scared of this situation he had no control over.

Lucy heard him and tightened her hold on him. This was uncharacteristic of Natsu, this insecurity. He was usually brimming with confidence and attitude. There was nothing that could stop him. It was painful to see him so shaken, so down.

"Never," she whispered back just as quietly, but making sure to stress the word as strongly as she could. There was no way she'd ever leave him, no matter what happened. He was hers, she was his, it had been that way since the very beginning. Nothing was changing that. Certainly no stupid, ancient, dragon ritual. They would be toughing this one out together, just as they did everything and anything else.

And if they came out of it mated for life... Well, there were worse things.

XxxxxxxX

Although tired, cranky and hungry Natsu, Lucy and their entire team trudged towards the guild instead of their homes. Rest and food would have to wait. They needed to consult with the Master about what was happening to Natsu and Lucy. If he remained unchecked, Natsu could pose a threat to anyone who even stood too close to Lucy if he lost control.

They weren't sure if the Master would even be able to help, but it was their only option. Besides, he needed to know about this development.

"I'm gonna get Levy-chan to help me research dragon mating rituals. There's bound to be some sort of information in the guild's library," Lucy announced, walking ahead of them, while Natsu followed behind her, his eyes fixed on the ground, a hard frown on his face. "I also need to talk to Gajeel, maybe he knows something more than Natsu," she finished, oblivious to her partner's glare falling on her back at the mention of the Iron Dragon Slayer.

"Good idea, Lucy," Erza commented, hastening her step to catch up to the Celestial mage. "The more information we have, the better."

Natsu didn't really like that they were talking about _his_ problem without even asking what _he _wanted to do. And besides, it really had nothing to do with Erza or Gray. It was about him and Lucy, if anyone was supposed to take care of it, then it should be _him and Lucy_.

"It's not your problem," he eventually grumbled and Gray reached out to thump him on the back of his head.

"The hell it isn't," the ice mage scowled. "Anything that has to do with you has to do with the team. If there're problems we find a solution together. You should know best that Fairy Tail never lets you deal alone with anything."

"That's right," Erza smiled as she turned to look at them and Lucy matched her. "Why do anything alone when you have an entire guild full of people there to help you?"

Lucy beamed at their teammates and Natsu grumbled under his breath, knowing that he was defeated. And besides, if he really thought about it, he knew that if push came to shove, having their guild backing them up would work in their favor.

At one hand he knew that some of his worries were completely baseless, but it wasn't exactly easy to convince himself of it. There was this totally unhinged side of him that kept thinking if he let the guild in on what was happening between him and Lucy that they'd take her away. It was the bond talking, he knew that much. The incomplete bond would do anything to push him into completing it. It still wasn't something he could do alone, though. Only him and Lucy doing the ritual would complete the bond. And Lucy might not even want that. So, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

He was ripped out of his worried thoughts when he felt someone take his hand. Looking down, he saw Wendy smiling up at him. The younger Dragon Slayer had been silent during most of the going ons that Natsu had almost forgotten she was there, at all.

"It's all going to be alright, Natsu-san," she whispered, her fingers squeezing his gently. "The dragon mating bond is a wonderful thing. Grandine didn't tell me much about it, since I was too young to fully understand it, but from what she said I can tell that it's something you and Lucy-san will forever cherish."

Natsu knew that the mating bond once complete would be like being one with Lucy in every way that counted. There was absolutely nothing they'd be able to hide from the other once it was completed. That wasn't what scared him. It was the physical aspect of the ritual that left him pretty much shaking in fear.

He had absolutely zero ideas about sex. He wouldn't know where to start or what to do. He'd probably do something extremely stupid and Lucy would hate him... He really should have worried about this sooner. The moment he'd realized that he loved Lucy as more than a friend he should have set to finding out information about sex, but he'd never even hoped that anything would come from his one-sided feelings. Now he had to worry about it, if he wanted to or not.

Advice, he'd need advice. The only person he would trust asking about such things was Lucy, but that would be a double-edged sword. And Lucy wasn't stupid, she'd know _why_ he was asking right away. That would be way too awkward.

He could ask Gray, but he'd never hear the end of it, and the damned popsicle would tell Lucy just to spite Natsu. Erza... She was even more clueless than Natsu. Wendy and the Exceeds were out too, for obvious reasons.

Probably the only people who wouldn't make fun of him if he asked anything like that were Alzack and Lisanna. But Lisanna probably didn't know much more than him and that would be an exercise in futility. That left Al, who was married and a father. So, he definitely knew what to do.

The only problem was that Natsu wasn't really all that close to Alzack and really wouldn't even know how to ask...

Damn, he really had his work cut out for him. Lucy would be more than worth it, but still.

**AN: And that's part 4. Things are probably gonna start heating up next chapter. No lemons yet, but definitely some kissing at least. I'll warn you when the lemon gets here so you can avoid it if you want.**

**A huge thank you to the reviewers of the past chapters: Andria Justus Haynie; Dark Shining Light; Mishy1824; XxCelestialPrincessxX; MasterGildarts; TheElectricLady; Ember Reverie; Anna5949; Ushindeshi; GothBanshee; animequeen100; Forbidden-Hanyou; Morenoel; Daelmagines; ABT4Life; aliciacevbra; savwafair; vaneanime and four guest reviewvers. **

**You guys all rock! I never expected this story to get such a response, and it's making me very happy so I have the urge to write even more.**


	5. Chapter 5

Natsu and Lucy's news hit the guild like some kind of bomb. Not only was Master interested, everyone else was as well. They all had questions no one could really answer, they all had theories and were throwing opinions nobody asked for around liberally. Natsu was agitated, to say the least.

It was an intensely private situation, intimate to Lucy and him and having what amounted to their entire extended families butting in it was sending him into a rage, second by second. He had a hard time keeping his instincts under control, his temper spiking at every question, every theory. Every once in a while, a wave of heat would wash over him and he'd flames licking at his tightly clenched fists.

Unfortunately, Levy nor Gajeel were able to offer any more information than what they'd already figured out on their own. The only thing they'd shared that Natsu didn't already know was the actual process of marking. Igneel had never explained it, so Natsu had had no idea what he was even going to do if, _when_ that time came. Luckily, it was all quite simple, Gajeel had said. Even an idiot like Salamander wouldn't be able to botch it up, he'd followed up and that concluded in a huge fight that only ended when Erza joined in and beat the snot out of the both of them.

The marking, truly was simple. The mates simply had to use a place they wanted to marks to be, since Levy and Gajeel had tried to keep their mating a secret they'd chosen places that weren't visible under normal circumstances, like the inside of Levy's right thigh, and the inside of Gajeel's right wrist, which was usually covered by a band of steel. Their mark was pretty inconspicuous too, looking more like a tattoo, more than anything else; a tiny bluebell wrapped in a thorny iron wire. Levy said they couldn't choose what it would look like, their magic did that.

The marking process entailed joining their magic powers together, something akin to Lucy synchronizing her magic to that of her Spirits in order to don a Star Dress, but on a much deeper, more intimate level. When their magics were entwined they simply had to touch the place they wished to mark and their own unique mating marks would appear.

When it came to the bond itself, the only thing Gajeel could say was that it was never same for two individuals. The mating bonds were as unique as the personalities of the people they bound together. What he and Levy experienced and shared wouldn't match what Lucy and Natsu would, so they still didn't know what to expect. The only thing Gajeel could say for sure was that yes, they were chosen mates and that the mating bond had started manifesting itself as soon as Natsu had acknowledged what was happening between him and Lucy.

It was developing at such speeds because it had been years in the making, but could only make itself known once it was consciously accepted by both parties. Here Levy had added that as full humans, she and Lucy couldn't exactly deny the bond. Once it started developing, they had to accept it. But, she'd followed up, it wouldn't have started developing in the first place without feelings shared between both sides.

This, more than anything had served to calm Natsu down. Lucy had feelings for him. It wasn't such a far-fetched thought anymore. It was reality. She probably didn't love him like he loved her, yet, but it'd come with time. This knowledge made him certain that they'd come through this whole mating business, stronger and better than ever. It made him happier than he'd been in a good long while.

XxxxxxX

After several hours of pointless discussion of something that the whole guild really shouldn't be privy of in the first place, Natsu'd had enough and simply grabbed Lucy and unceremoniously left the mess of loud, and annoying, if well-meaning wizards. The final drop had been when Mira had dragged Lucy off to a corner to give the girl a few "pointers". Natsu wasn't _that_ stupid. Even he knew that it was sex-talk, especially when almost the entire female population of the guild joined them in that corner. Hell, even Erza was standing near the cluster of women, blushing a furious red at whatever Mira was saying. Lucy wasn't faring much better, she looked ready to either faint or bolt at any given moment.

What had finally spurred Natsu into action was when Laxus came up behind him and slapped him across the back so hard that Natsu not only fell over but skidded on the floor a few feet. That would normally just make him force the older Dragon Slayer into a fight, but Laxus followed his loving little slap with a leer that made Natsu's blood boil. "So, the Salamander is all grown up. Even got yourself a girl. Good for you, Natsu. I'm proud of you. I'm just gonna say this because I'm actually somewhat fond of that little blondie. If you can't measure up... I'm gonna have to swoop in and show her what a real man can do!"

With that Laxus and Bickslow had erupted in loud laughter while Freed pouted at Laxus' back. Natsu had just barely held back from attempting to set all three on fire. Instead he'd shown Laxus the finger, which only made the two older males laugh harder. He'd left them to that, stalked to Lucy who looked like she wished she was strapped to a chair back in Dimaria's improvised torture chamber, than pressed to Cana's ample bosom as the drunk brunette gave loud, obnoxious and scandalous advice.

Natsu hadn't bothered to listen, only grabbed his partner and all but run out the door.

Now they were back in Lucy's room, the blonde was taking a bath and Natsu was stuffing his face with chips and alternately pacing from the kitchen to the bed and back, like an agitated, caged tiger. He really just wanted to smash something, even better to burn something until nothing but ashes remained. He hated feeling helpless. When he couldn't rush head-first into whatever was going on and fight it out, he found himself not knowing what to do. Lucy was always the one to guide the pace when there was no battle to be had. She was good at planning and strategizing. He was good at breaking things. That was the reason why their partnership worked so well, he was the brawn and Lucy the brains. Hell, that was the reason their whole team worked so well together.

Lucy, Wendy and sometimes Erza provided strategic advice, intel, and info while the rest of them beat everything and everyone standing in their way into submission. Erza was a great battle strategist, not on Master Mavis' level, but she was good, paired with Lucy's near limitless well of knowledge about anything and everything, their team usually had a plan for every situation.

Happy had jokingly referred to Lucy as 'general', during the Alvarez war. Natsu had since forgotten what had prompted it, but he'd found it all too accurate. In their little team of three, Lucy was the general. She was the one with the plan, with the knowledge, and even when a fight erupted, you could trust Lucy to remain calm and direct the battle from behind. She was an exceptional Celestial mage not only because she had so many keys and the unconditional love and trust of her Spirits, but because she fought alongside them, guiding them to victory, time after time.

He really couldn't have found a better mate. Hell, he couldn't even dream a better Lucy. Lucy was... Well, Lucy was Lucy, and that said it all. He couldn't do better than her, no way, no how. She on the other hand... If he was completely honest, Natsu knew that Lucy could do a lot better than him. There was no shortage of men who wouldn't give an arm and a leg at a chance with Lucy. Laxus was mostly joking, he knew. The blond had his eye on another fiery female, but that didn't mean that his other guild mates wouldn't just love to get in there and steal Lucy right under his nose.

Only, Lucy wasn't a woman you could steal. If she didn't want to go with you, you'd have to drag her kicking and screaming, and you could be sure that along the way she'd find a way to not only escape but to make it as painful as humanly possible for her captors. He'd never met a person with such a force of will. Sure, he was willful, Erza too, hell most of the others were willful people, but Lucy put them all to shame. She was willful, proud, stubborn, argumentative, slightly conceited and so damn reckless. Okay, he wasn't one to talk about being reckless, but still.

Things would be different from now on. Lucy would have more protection. The mating bond would allow him to keep her as safe as possible in any given situation. If he could, he'd give her his fire, but that was impossible, so he'd settle for the next best thing, Lucy Fire, he thought with a grin. That had been such a glorious sight, too. All of Lucy's beauty surrounded in brilliant, blazing flames. A shudder run through him just thinking about it. Knowing that his fire couldn't hurt her was the biggest turn on of his life.

Lucy, naked and moaning under him, all around him and his fire surrounding them both... It was the most erotic image he'd ever seen, if only in his head. What he wouldn't give to see it for real. He would one day, if he stayed patient and played his cards right. They wouldn't be on the cusp of a full-blown mating bond if Lucy didn't have feelings for him. And one day soon, they'd complete the bond...

As thrilled as that thought made him, it also sent a fissure of unease down his spine. He knew next to nothing about sex. All he had was a vivid imagination where Lucy was concerned. He could imagine doing all sort of things to and with her, but knew that if it came down to it, he wouldn't know where to start. It was frustrating. Why the hell had he waited so damn long to learn these things?

Even freaking Gray had been with a girl. And a rusted lump of iron like Gajeel was mated. He was sure even Erza and Jellal had done more than him. He'd never even kissed a girl, much less gone further. Sure, he'd seen Lucy naked more times than he could really count, he'd accidentally-on-purpose groped her a few times. But that was it. He was over 400 damned years old, and had the sexual experience of a monk.

But, whom could he have kissed? Female guild members were out of the question, he grew up with them, they were all like siblings. And strangers were even worse. You couldn't do things like that with someone you didn't know and couldn't trust. And it wasn't like he could imagine himself touching anyone since meeting Lucy. Anyone but Lucy, that is. She'd pretty much become the center of his universe from the moment she first smiled at him.

He really should have acted on his feelings sooner. The moment he'd realized what Lucy meant to him he should have done something to show her. He should have at least kissed her at some point, even at the risk of getting slapped into next week. Maybe if he'd shown Lucy how he felt about her, she would have responded positively.

Well, it was far too late for what ifs. He had to focus on the now. Tomorrow he'd seek out Alzack and if Gildarts came back any time soon, he could ask him for advice too.

Nodding his head in satisfaction, Natsu turned to flop down on the bed and stopped when Lucy's bookshelf caught his attention. Books really weren't his forte, unless he was trying to take a peek at Lucy's new novel. But he knew from over-heard conversations that Lucy sometimes read really naughty books. She and Levy giggled about them at the guild, and a few times he'd gotten a whiff of Lucy's arousal while she read one of her raunchy novels. Maybe he could get an idea about what to do if he read one of those books.

The only problem with that plan was that Lucy had a million books and he had no idea which book was about what. There were books on stars and astrology, books on magic, books on Celestial magic, fairy tales, history books, philosophy, psychology and books on military strategies. He'd need a week to even try and find one erotic novel. And if Lucy caught him, he was as good as dead.

Just as he threw himself face-first on her bedding in defeat, Lucy emerged out of the bathroom with a cloud of steam, clad in sleeping shorts and a light t-shirt. She paused for a moment as she took in the chip crumbs and the empty bag crumpled on the ground and shook her head, but didn't comment. No matter how many times she told him not to mess up her room he never listened, so why even bother anymore? She'd just force him to clean it up, later.

"Natsu, you okay?" she asked as she sat on the bed next to prone form.

"Augh," was all he said as he turned his head to look at her. She smiled and reached down to shift her hand through his messy pink locks.

"Long day, huh?"

Natsu grinned back at her and slowly sat up, eyeing her carefully. Damn but she was beautiful.

"Your hair's dripping," he whispered and reached for her. "I'll dry it for you."

Lucy gave him a warm smile and turned her back to him. He'd started drying her hair one night when she took too long to get to bed and he was tired of waiting for her. They'd quickly discovered that it was something they both enjoyed doing and had become somewhat of a bed-time ritual for them.

The next fifteen minutes were spent in comfortable silence as Natsu waived his heated fingers through her damp golden locks and Lucy leaned back against him, completely relaxed and getting sleepy. When he finally finished and smoothed his palm over the shining curtain of gold, Lucy shifted and turned her head to look at him.

"Thank you," she whispered and he smiled, getting bold as he let his fingers glide over her cheek and jaw. Her face took on a lovely pink hue, but she didn't shy away from his touch, nor did she allow her eyes to leave his.

They'd finally arrived at an impasse. Their relationship was already altered forever, but it was up to them how to proceed from that point on. They could either accept the inevitable or try to fight it for a while longer.

But they weren't ready. Neither of them was ready for what was to come. They weren't ready to go from friends and partners to lovers and mates. It was too sudden, too unexpected. They needed time. And that was something they didn't have. Their bond was growing stronger by the second and one day soon it would overwhelm them with the need to finally fulfill it, ready or not. If that happened, nothing, not even their own lives would be on their terms anymore.

To prevent that, Natsu knew, they had to do something _now_. They had to talk about what was happening, about what was going to happen and what they were going to do about it. They needed to be on the same page, needed a plan, needed... needed... Hell, they just needed each other. And that was something they always had. Everything else could come as it saw fit. They'd meet it head on.

Laying his hands on her shoulders he gave a little squeeze, before he let his arms fall to wrap around her waist. She didn't protest, moved only to snuggled closer to his warmth.

"We're gonna be okay, Luce," he whispered with a new found conviction that brought a smile to Lucy's face.

"Yes, Natsu, we are," she whispered back and turned her head again to look up at him.

There was a reason they'd always felt comfortable when they were close like this. They'd never shied away from touching each other, proximity never bothered them, in fact the closer they were, the more comfortable they felt.

It was time, Lucy realized. Time that some things changed, progressed.

Emboldened with the knowledge that they were meant for one another, Lucy rose to her knees and turned to face Natsu. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders she looked into those dark, burning eyes and felt nothing but comfort and familiarity. No fear, no unease, no anxiety. This was Natsu, after all. Her Natsu. They shared everything already, so why shouldn't they share their hearts and bodies and souls?

She couldn't tell exactly what his eyes were saying but what she could read there, hope, desire, _love_, gave her the courage to lean down and let their lips touch for the first time.

As kisses went, it wasn't much to write home about. It was a shy, hesitant, first attempt for both of them, but none the less it was warm, soft and filled to brimming with emotions.

For a few moments they stayed like that, lips touching softly, arms embracing. When they went to deepen the contact, did things become slightly awkward. Natsu angled his head the wrong way and their noses smooshed together, she leaned forward too much, too fast and their teeth clicked against each other painfully.

Drawing apart, their eyes met and both started snickering at their clumsiness before erupting in full scale laughter, still holding each other tightly.

When they moved apart, they did it to get under the covers. Natsu lay on his back and Lucy snuggled to his side, leaning over him to plant one more warm, soft, slightly wet kiss on his smiling lips, before laying down with her head on his chest.

After a long, exhausting day, the hopeful lovers slept, no longer afraid of what tomorrow would bring.

Outside lightening cracked across the skies and storm clouds gathered over Magnolia, the wind picking up. Some might take it as a bad omen, some would just see it for what it was, nature having its way.

**AN: This chapter is way later than intended, but no matter how many times I sat down to edit it this week I couldn't even start before something interrupted me. So, it's coming to you completely unedited, I apologize if there're too many mistakes.**

**Once again, a huge thank you to everyone who reviewed: savwafair; BearPlusCat; ABT4Life; Warhorn101; Ember Reverie; Anna5949; RedFantasies; Ushindeshi; MasterGildarts; Andria Justus Haynie; Dark Shining Light; Mishy1824; XxCelestialPrincessxX; TheElectricLady; GothBanshee; animequeen100; Forbidden-Hanyou; Morenoel; aliciacevbra; Daelmagines; vaneanime and 4 Guest reviewers. **


	6. Chapter 6

A month has already passed since Natsu and Lucy learned that they were on the inevitable path to becoming mates. A month since Lucy kissed him. Nothing had happened since. No new development, no deeper understanding, nothing.

Well, okay, it didn't end with that one awkward kiss. They kissed again, and again, and again. In fact, they'd gotten pretty darned good at it, and Natsu craved the contact every minute of every day. Unfortunately for him, Lucy still seemed to have _some_ reservations and limited their kissing drastically.

Maybe that was his fault. They'd been sitting on her couch three weeks ago, talking, just casually holding each other, teasing. Lucy had been giggling at something silly he'd said and Natsu had felt like the king of the world. Just sitting there with her like that, was like some kind of dream come true for him. He'd been pining for her for so long, that any little crumb, no matter how miniscule felt like an enormous achievement to him. And he'd wanted more. So, he'd leaned in and kissed that sweet, giggling mouth.

Lucy's response had been positive. She'd welcomed his lips on hers, returning his kiss with all of her intoxicating affection. It was the first time they'd deepened their kisses beyond simple lips on lips contact. Their mouths had opened, tongues exploring hesitantly, yet eagerly, hungry for the taste of the other. Natsu had quickly become drunk on her, her scent, her taste, the warmth of her body pressed tightly against his. He never wanted to let her go. Never wanted to stop kissing her.

And they didn't. Stop kissing, that is. One deep kiss had given way to another, three, five, ten kisses later, Natsu had lost count. It didn't matter. Kissing Lucy was all that mattered. The world as they knew it could come crashing down around his ears and he still wouldn't want to stop kissing Lucy.

At the rate they were going, things were bound to get out of hand. One of them was almost guaranteed to step out of the line. This time it was Natsu. If anyone asked him how it all happened, he wouldn't be able to say for sure.

As their kisses grew deeper and heavier, the passion and fire between them spiked ever higher. Neither had ever felt anything like that before. The need to be as close to another person as physically possible was new, and overwhelming in its intensity. They couldn't get enough of each other, especially when their own bodies decided to make their desires known, drowning both in a wave of pure desire.

When the fire between them had started reaching blistering points, Natsu had shifted Lucy so that she straddled his lap. It wasn't consciously done on his part, since he'd been too busy trying to drink his fill of her sweet kisses. Lucy, likewise, hadn't really registered the move and hadn't complained. She'd only wound her arms tighter around his neck, her fingers clenching in his spiky hair. His arms had closed around her, one hand gripping her hip, the other at the nape of her neck, holding her head to his, further deepening their kiss.

Natsu, far too lost in Lucy's taste and smell only became aware of his own arousal when Lucy gyrated her hips against his. Things went downhill from there.

He was all for taking the next step, finally consummating their relationship, getting to touch Lucy at long last. Their bond, the mating, didn't even cross his mind. He'd abandoned all thought when he'd felt her tongue in his mouth for the first time and let instinct rule him. All his body, mind and soul wanted was to become one with her.

Lucy was his everything, and he wanted to show her just how deep his feelings run, just how much he loved her. It had never even crossed his mind that it was too much, too soon. That Lucy wasn't ready. That _he_, as much as he wanted this, wasn't ready himself.

Lucy was the one who put a stop to the proceedings. When his lips had left hers and were trailing a fiery path down her jaw and neck, his left hand had skated up her side and cupped her breast. That was the point Lucy knew they couldn't cross. Not yet. This thing between them, whatever it was, was still far too fragile to survive if either of them did something they'd later regret. And if she gave into the passion and raw attraction between them before she knew if her own feelings for Natsu were indeed love, she knew she'd regret it.

So, she'd pushed him away, climbed off his lap and put some distance between them. It was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do. Painfully, she'd explained that they had to stop, and had almost started crying, when Natsu had only smiled sadly, kissed her cheek and whispered, "Whatever you want, Luce," before leaving through her window.

He hadn't returned that night and Lucy's heart had been on the brink of breaking, until she'd found him on her couch after her morning shower, his usual bright grin in place, love in his eyes.

He understood.

In hindsight, Natsu also knew that Lucy was right to stop them when she did. They weren't ready.

XxxxxxxX

After that, there was no progress to speak of. They kissed, they'd made out a couple more times, but that was it. They weren't getting closer, not even emotionally, and Natsu was getting antsy. He craved physical contact with her, yes, but more than that he craved the emotional bond they had. He wanted for it to be stronger, deeper, to grow more and more every day. It wasn't happening. Lucy was holding back. And that in turn made him hold back.

He didn't want to overwhelm, or scare her with the intensity of his feelings for her. More than anything he wanted to have Lucy's complete trust. She trusted him with her life, he wanted her to trust him with her heart. That would probably take a while, though and Natsu wasn't exactly known for his patience.

On top of everything something strange was going on in Magnolia.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but something was definitely out of place.

A couple of days after his and Lucy's first kiss, someone or something had damaged the roof of Cardia Cathedral. Gramps had immediately jumped to the conclusion that Natsu was the culprit. Natsu had only escaped punishment when Lucy and Happy had sworn up and down that he'd been with them day and night, which he had been. Both his partners would lie for him if it meant life or death, but Gramps was well aware that Lucy wouldn't lie just to spare him punishment. If he'd been guilty, she would have helped Gramps make his life a living hell.

That had been the first incident, but definitely not the last.

Random acts of vandalism had stopped after a couple of times, but other things kept happening. They all centered around Lucy.

Someone had tried to pin destruction around the city on him, when this didn't work, the culprit had started concentrating on Lucy, for what reason Natsu couldn't tell. It was making him uneasy. No, it downright spooked him, especially the night a couple of weeks ago when they got home from the guild and found a window open. Nothing was missing or misplaced, but Natsu could smell that someone had been in the room. He couldn't recognize the scent, and that was making him all the more uneasy.

If anyone wanted to hurt him, he'd say bring it, but this person whoever they were made Lucy their target and Natsu had had enough close calls with Lucy's life to be more than cautious.

So, he'd swallowed his pride and asked the guild for help.

Random Fairy Tail wizards came around Lucy's place at random times, no matter if someone was home or not. And just a couple of days ago Jet and Droy had caught someone trying to sneak in the bedroom window. When they'd called out, the person had fled, Jet had given chase, but the culprit had escaped, probably using teleportation.

Now there was someone always at the apartment, ready to catch the intruder if he tried again.

There had been no more attempted break-ins, but the whole guild was definitely on high alert. Nobody wanted to see Lucy hurt. She was the light of Fairy Tail, and they'd all do their very best to keep that light shining bright.

It was times like these that Natsu appreciated his guild the most. They were all a big family, and even though they squabbled among each other from time to time, when it came down to it, they were all ready to fight for the others. If there was one thing he could count on, then it was that Fairy Tail would always have his back, no matter what.

This made it easier for him to sleep at night.

Until last night, that is.

It had all started normally enough. He, Lucy and Happy were heading out to dinner after spending the day at the guild. Lucy wanted her favorite shrimp ramen for dinner, so they went to the restaurant that had the best ramen in Magnolia. Dinner was a peaceful affair with Lucy slowly savoring her bowl of ramen while Natsu and Happy stuffed their faces.

Dragon Slayer and Exceed were still eating when Lucy excused herself and headed for the restrooms. Natsu had let his guard down, they were in a crowded restaurant, Lucy would be safe there.

When Lucy didn't return after ten minutes, Natsu started to feel restless. He kept glancing around the dining area, seeing patrons and servers milling around, people talking, eating. Everything was normal, so what was Lucy doing?

He was just about to send Happy to look for her, when a woman's high-pitched scream shattered the peaceful atmosphere of the restaurant. Natsu immediately jumped to his feet and turned in the direction of the restrooms where the scream came from. A middle-aged woman in an expensive dress was standing in the hall-way, her hands clasped to her chest, her face bright red.

"Please!" she called out. "Some man is attacking a girl in the restroom!"

That was all Natsu needed to hear before he was running full-tilt for the bathroom, and sure enough he felt Lucy's magic spiking all over the place. Why hadn't he felt it sooner?

Not thinking about anything but keeping Lucy safe, Natsu crashed into the bathroom and came to a halt as he saw Lucy in her Leo Star Dress, with Loke at her side, beating back a masked man who bounced around the room, trying to find an opening to strike at Lucy. Loke wasn't having it, though, and with a nod at Lucy, who promptly closed her eyes, Natsu quickly following suit, unleashed his Lion Brilliance attack.

The enemy cried out as light blinded him, and Natsu opened his eyes to see Lucy changing into her Taurus Star Dress and delivering a brutal kick to the man's midsection. He coughed as the air was forced from his lungs and collapsed to his knees, arms wrapped around his midsection. Lucy stood in front of him, fists on hips as she glared daggers at him.

"What do you want from me?" she demanded, fire in her eyes and Natsu shivered a little bit. Yup, she was scary, but damn, she was so _hot_ when she got serious.

"Heh," the masked man chuckled dryly. "Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough, Child of the Stars. This is just the beginning."

And with those ominous words he teleported out of the restroom.

"What a creep," Loke scoffed, flicking his bangs out of his eyes with long fingers as stepped closer to Lucy. "But you don't need to worry, my Princess, your faithful Knight shall protect you." With that he swept in a low bow and winked up at Lucy, who just smiled at him.

"Luce, you okay?"

Lucy turned to Natsu a slight pout on her face. "I'm fine, don't worry. He came out of nowhere, the second I was alone in here and tried to grab my keys. What I'd like to know is why people think they could just come up and take my keys as they please? Beyond rude, if you ask me."

Natsu had to smile despite his stomach turning on itself and attempting to take a vacation away from his gut. "Beyond stupid, too," he smirked and Lucy smiled.

"That too. What did that creep think that I'd just hand my precious keys over to him? As if!"

Loke slung an arm around his Mistress' shoulders and Natsu had to suppress a growl trying to erupt from his throat. Out of all Lucy's Spirits, Natsu felt like the Lion posed the biggest threat. Lucy had saved Loke's life, and he'd in turn sworn to serve her till one of them died. Loke loved Lucy, and Natsu had the irrational fear that Lucy would one day look at Loke and decide that he was better suited for her.

It was stupid, he knew. Loke had been there right under her nose for years, even when Natsu himself wasn't, and she'd never paid any attention to him. She'd give Natsu her first kiss, would give him her first everything...

But would she have given him _anything_ if it hadn't been for the mating bond?

Sure, the bond itself required feelings to already be present on both sides, but he and Lucy had always been very close, the bond could have mistaken deep affection for a best friend for something deeper on Lucy's side...

To hell with it! He'd just drive himself insane if he kept thinking like that! All he had to do was trust in Lucy, she would tell him everything else. They'd gotten this far because they trusted each other, it wasn't going to change now of all times.

"Whatever the hell he wanted," Natsu commented, shaking off his earlier thoughts, "he'll be back. It's the same guy that tried to break into your place, I recognize his scent."

"Let the asshole come," Lucy pushed off Loke's arm and discarded her Star Dress. "The only thing he can get from me in another kick in the gut."

Natsu grinned and wrapped his own arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer, she didn't resist. "That's my Luce!"

**AN: Sorry this is so short, my left arm is in a sling, typing with only one hand is very slow business. I hope everyone liked this chapter, short as it is.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed until now: TheElectricLady; Konasuki Profitt; mckaylafaith; MasterGildarts; BearPlusCat; Ember Reverie; Anna5949; Ushindeshi; savwafair; ABT4Life; Warhorn101; RedFantasies; Andria Justus Haynie; Dark Shining Light; Mishy1824; XxCelestialPrincessxX; GothBanshee; animequeen100; Forbidden-Hanyou; Morenoel; aliciacevbra; Daelmagines; vaneanime and 5 guest reviewers.**

**Can I ask for a total of 60 reviews with this chapter? Thanks in advance. **


	7. Chapter 7

After Lucy got attacked at the restaurant, the entire guild was on high alert. Master had also notified the Council about what was happening, and Rune Knights were milling around Magnolia, looking for anything or anybody suspicious. Meanwhile, Lucy had been moved in Natsu and Happy's house. The small cottage was hard to find if one didn't know where to look for it, and it being located in the woods gave Natsu and Lucy an advantage if it came to a fight, since they wouldn't have to worry about damaging property or injuring innocent bystanders.

Lucy would stay there till the issue with who was after her got resolved, so she'd been forced to give up her room, and dig into her savings to buy some furniture for Natsu's almost bare home. It really was for the best, though. Now Natsu's little house really looked like a home. Lucy, Erza, Levy, Juvia and Mirajane had been cleaning and redecorating it for the better part of a week, and Lucy was finally happy with it. There was a real bedroom now, the bathroom was sparkling and there were dishes in the kitchen.

Luckily, she was used to living with Natsu and Happy, since they were always in her room, so it wasn't a big change in routine for her. Living with Natsu, for real, was a revelation. When he wasn't barging in uninvited and she wasn't looking for means to eject him with, Natsu was an awesome housemate. He had didn't complain when she asked him to do the dishes after breakfast or dinner, he even scrubbed the bathroom after they were done with their baths in the evening. When she'd asked him why his house resembled a pigsty when he clearly didn't mind cleaning, he'd just shrugged and said he saw no reason to do it before, but if Lucy lived there he'd do it, because Lucy liked clean.

It was one of the sweetest things he'd said and done for her. So, she'd set to reward him with a kiss. They couldn't stop with just one kiss though, and things got further than anticipated when in the heat of the moment, she'd let him take her top off. It was embarrassing, actually _letting _him see her shirtless, worse even, not protesting when he'd touched her. But his warm hands felt wonderful on her own heated skin. He was fumbling slightly, but he still touched her like she was made of spun-glass, reverently, oh so very gently. His eyes had that feverish look in them, but they were full of adoration and Lucy couldn't bring herself to stop him. Not when he touched her as if she were the most precious thing in Earthland.

This time it was Natsu who stopped them. They were laying on the new bed, both in just their shorts, on their sides, facing each other and he had just worked up the nerve to actually kiss her breasts. He was kneading and suckling on the soft, supple flesh while Lucy shuddered and moaned above his head, when he'd noticed that her hand on his bicep was trembling. Stopping was the last thing he wanted to do, but her well-being was far more important than his desires. So, he'd sucked on one rosy nipple one last time, before he'd risen up again and kissed her forehead.

With one last kiss to her soft lips, he'd grabbed her shirt and offered it to her with a smile. Lucy had looked confused for a few seconds, before she'd smiled at him and thrown her arms around his shoulders, hugging him close.

The time for sex will come, things like these come naturally, when you want to be as close to the person you love as possible and nothing else matters anymore. Being unsure about it only means that the right time hasn't come yet. Being with Lucy was all that mattered. He loved Lucy for Lucy, not for her body. Her beauty was only a small part of what made him fall for her. It was her kindness, her courage, her intelligence, and most of all her acceptance of all he is that made Lucy his most precious person.

He was stupid, and he only knew how to fight, yet Lucy still smiled at him, she talked to him, she enjoyed his company, she listened to him and was there when something was bothering him, always ready to lend a helping hand. When others laughed at him Lucy stood up for him, she believed in him, she trusted him. There was no denying it, Lucy was his life, he'd be lost without her. So, in the end it didn't really matter if they made love today or in a week, or in a year. All that counted was that they were together.

Completely content, Natsu pressed a kiss to Lucy's head and guided them to lie down again. Holding each other tight, they soon fell into dreamless, peaceful slumber.

The following day, another attack occurred.

XxxxxxxxxxX

Natsu was at the guild, finally with a couple of free minutes, that he used immediately to seek out Alzack. Luckily, the older mage was at the guild with his wife and daughter. It had taken Natsu some time before he worked up the nerve to approach them and ask Alzack for a private conversation. Alzack was accommodating enough, and sat with Natsu in an isolated corner, first patiently listening to what the Fire Dragon Slayer had to say and then trying as best as he could to explain the basics of sex to him. Natsu was younger, but he was still the superior mage and Alzack respected his power, so having this exact conversation was awkward as hell. But he was honored that Natsu chose to come to him, out of every other guy in the guild. His face was bright red, and he was stuttering like mad, but he still did his best to prepare Natsu for what was to come between him and Lucy. His own first time with Bisca had been a mess, but a beautiful mess, and this he shared with Natsu; it didn't matter if he knew what he was doing, as long as he and Lucy loved each other it was going to be perfect.

After the conversation with Alzack, Natsu was feeling better and was at the bar waiting for Mira to pour him a glass of fire-whiskey when the guild doors flung open with a bang and he jumped. His throat constricted and his gut roiled as he saw a sweaty and wheezing Levy with a panicked look on her pretty face. The moment her eyes caught his, Levy started running towards him.

"Natsu! Hurry! Lu-chan!"

Natsu didn't wait for more, simply run out of the guild and towards his home. He wasn't far away when he heard the sounds of a fight and speeded up, all the way praying that nothing happened to Lucy. When he came to the clearing west of his house, he could only stop and stare.

His Lucy was surrounded, five mages all wearing the same masks as the guy from the other night, but she wasn't backing down. She was holding her own. In her Taurus Star Dress, her whip in hand, she stood behind Scorpio while he and Taurus held the other mages off. When she moved her right hand, Natsu recognized the key in it. It was a silver key she'd purchased some months ago while on a job. She'd stumbled across some pretty good silver keys in a little magic shop and had immediately bought three, happy beyond comprehension to get more Spirits. This would be the first time she'd be calling one of them in a fight and he waited to see what would come out of the gate.

"Open! Gate of the eagle! Aquilla!"

The Celestial eagle was easily four times the size of his mortal counterparts, and his screech was loud enough to make Natsu cringe. With a flap of his mighty wings, the golden hued predator shot towards Lucy's opponents, aiding Taurus and Scorpio in the fight.

One of the opposing mages was trying to sneak by Scorpio's blind side and Natsu tensed, ready to interfere, but didn't get to do anything when Lucy's whip shot out and caught the masked guy across the chest with a vicious snap. He stumbled back with a cry of pain, but Lucy didn't let him get his bearings.

"Star Dress! Scorpio form!" The golden light of the transformation had barely faded when she lunged towards her attacker, hand wrapped around the chain that imitated a scorpion's tail at her waist. The golden chain was extendable and Natsu watched somewhat in awe she wrapped it around the dark mage's neck, braced her knees against his back and didn't slacken her hold till the man fell unconscious with a gurgle.

Natsu was too busy staring at his radiant mate to notice movement from the left. One of the other four mages had managed to get by Scorpio was aiming some sort of dark cloud at Lucy. It would have hit her, if Loke hadn't summoned himself at that precise moment and dispelled the cloud with a glowing fist.

That was when Natsu had enough and jumped into the fray. Taken by surprise, the enemy mages faltered and the fight was over in seconds. They'd managed to escape, though and Natsu and Lucy still had no idea who was attacking her and why.

"DAMN IT!" Natsu cursed, punching the trunk of a nearby tree in frustration. "Who the hell are these guys?! I can't believe they got away again!"

Lucy, standing little ways from him, was pensive. "They're not very strong, in fact I'd go as far as to call them pretty weak. Makes me wonder how they plan to capture anyone if they can't overwhelm and weaken them."

"Well, I think they're pretty much just idiots," Loke reasoned. "They obviously don't have much information on Celestial mages. They didn't know that a strong Celestial mage can open several gates at the same time. And I can imagine that they have no idea what a Star Dress even is, not mention what it can do."

"Yup, obviously idiots," Scorpio agreed with a scoff. "Going after someone, with no idea what to expect from them. Plain stupid."

"The last thing they expected was for Lucy to be as strong as she is," Aquilla added his opinion, standing behind Lucy with his wings neatly folded over his back, head held proudly, sharp golden eyes glinting with intelligence. "Amateurs, I'd say."

Loke clapped his hands together a few times and nodded sharply. "Whatever the case, the most important thing is that Lucy's safe. If they come again, they'll probably be better prepared, though, so we must keep diligent," sharp, feline eyes cut to Natsu leaning against a tree. "That means you, Natsu."

"Tch," he scoffed and straightened, crossing his arms. "No need to tell me. As if I'd let anyone hurt Lucy."

This seemed to rile both Loke and Scorpio up, as both males instantly straightened and took menacing steps towards the Dragon Slayer.

"Oh, yeah?" Scorpio taunted. "And where were you when Lucy and Levy got attacked, huh? You weren't here."

"Obviously," Loke drawled, all but ready to give Natsu a good pounding. He'd probably lose against the maniacally strong wizard, but it would be worth it to even get one good punch in.

"Alright, enough!" Lucy cut in, moving between her Spirits and her boyfriend (Is he her boyfriend? _Not the time_, she reminded herself sharply). "Loke, Scorpio, Taurus, Aquilla, thank you for your help, you guys were great. You can go back now and rest."

Having no other choice but to obey their Summoner, Scorpio, Taurus and Aquilla disappeared in flashes of golden light as their gates closed on Lucy's command. Loke, however, remined stubbornly behind, having crossed through his gate using his own power, thus free to ignore Lucy's attempt to close it.

"Loke," Lucy sighed, looking at her loyal Lion. "Please go back."

"Not until Natsu explains in detail how he plans to protect you from further attacks," the fierce Spirit folded his arms across his strong chest and scowled at his Mistress' partner.

"I can protect myself, thank you very much," Lucy snapped, slowly losing patience.

"I'll show you how I'll protect Luce," Natsu exclaimed, fists on fire as he shot towards Loke, who crouched in a defensive form.

"Enough, already!" Lucy shouted, Loke's key held high in her hand. "Close! Gate of the Lion!"

Despite having used his own magic to open his gate, Loke couldn't keep it open against the onslaught of Lucy's magic. She was easily ten times as strong as Karen used to be, and with their deep bond could force him to close the gate himself, if need be, but her magic was strong enough to manage it, and Loke disappeared in a flash of light.

"Natsu!" she snapped. "This is no time to be fighting amongst ourselves!"

Natsu stopped in front of her and pouted. "But he started it!"

"Seriously?" Lucy scoffed, bracing her hands on her hips. "You're not a child, Natsu."

Whatever retort Natsu might have had, was forgotten when the forest was swarmed with their guildmates. Erza, Gray, Wendy, Levy, Gajeel and Laxus all suddenly crowded around the couple, looking ready to fight.

"Lu-chan!" Levy run towards the blonde, hugging her tightly. "I've been so worried. Are you okay?"

Lucy hugged her friend back and smiled. "I'm okay, Levy-chan. Thanks for getting Natsu so quickly."

"You were able to deal with the attackers on your own, Natsu?" Erza asked, her assertive eyes traveling over Lucy, obviously looking for injuries.

"No," Natsu sighed and crossed his arms behind his head. "Luce pretty much took care of them on her own."

Erza blinked and Gray grinned while Laxus and Gajeel snickered in the background.

"Lucy-san is very strong," Wendy chimed in and beside her Carla nodded, though looked somewhat skeptical.

Happy who'd made himself at home in Lucy's arms as soon as he'd arrived there, chimed in, "She probably run them off with her scary face." He laughed and flew away as Lucy tried to swipe at him, all the while muttering about skinning annoying cats.

"Lucy is safe, that's all that matters," Erza stepped in. "Were you able to divulge any information about who they are or what they want from you?" she asked Lucy and the blonde shook her head.

"Unfortunately not. They didn't speak at all, just appeared out of nowhere and suddenly attacked. I tried asking them what they wanted with me while we were fighting, but none of them said a thing. The only things I know is that they use some kind of teleportation magic, need me or my keys for some nefarious reasons and aren't exactly strong."

"That's not much, but it's a start," Levy grinned. "I'll hit the library, look up clues on teleportation magic and try to find anything that might require Celestial Gate Keys, or Celestial magic, like rituals or something."

"Thank you, Levy. That's a very good idea," Erza nodded. "Everything we can manage to find out about them will give us an advantage when they strike again. The first two attackers fortunately weren't very strong and Lucy had no trouble defending herself. That doesn't mean that the next time they attack they wouldn't be better prepared." The red-headed Requip mage turned to her teammate and friend. "That means, you're not to be left alone at any time, Lucy. Someone should always be with you, preferably Natsu. I doubt whatever they can throw at you would be able to overcome him."

Lucy frowned and stepped closer to Erza. "He can't stay 24/7 with me, Erza. Besides, I can fight my own battles, I don't need anyone to protect me."

"Of course," Erza soothed, very much aware that her friend's stubbornly independed streak wouldn't allow her to graciously accept anyone's protection without putting up a hell of a fight first. "However, it is better to be safe than sorry, and you and Natsu are living together now because of this, I'm simply suggesting that you don't go anywhere on your own for the time being. We're not doubting your strength or your abilities, Lucy, I know what you're capable of when it comes down to it. I simply don't wish to see you hurt, and your chances of getting through whatever may come next are best with Natsu by your side."

"Fine," Lucy conceded, somewhat ungraciously as she pouted prettily, but relaxed when Natsu wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Don't worry, Erza. Nobody's touching Luce. I don't care who these bastards are or what they want, but if they come again, I'm gonna burn them to ashes. Nobody messes with Fairy Tail!"

Erza smiled and nodded. "It's settled, then. Natsu, you keep close to Lucy at any times. If either of you need to go anywhere, the town or the guild, you do it together. Levy, please try to find out as much as you can about the information Lucy provided, and I'll inform Master about what happened and ask his opinion. Maybe he can ask the Council to allow Levy the access to their archives. If these people need Lucy or her keys for some kind of ritual, our chances of finding out what exactly that could be, would be higher with the amount of forbidden or lost magical literature the Council has at their disposal."

From behind Levy, Gajeel grunted. "Leave the council to Levy and me. We've worked for them for a year and I'm sure that at least old man Jura would give Levy whatever information she wants."

"Ah, that would be a big help," the Knight nodded with a smile. "Levy please, contact Jura-sama as soon as you return to the guild."

Levy nodded and went to hug Lucy one more time, before she and Gajeel turned to head back to the guild. Laxus behind them, throwing one last look at team Natsu clustered around the Celestial mage. There were no dull moments in Fairy Tail.

**AN: My arm's better now, thank you all for the well-wishes, I can type with both hands again, yay. Next chapter will mark half of this story, so I'm gonna warn you now that it's gonna contain a lemon.**

**64 reviews until now, I can't express how happy I am that you guys seem to love this story so much. Can we get it to 75 with this chapter?**

**Thank you to all that reviewed the previous chapter: Dark Shining Light; TheJSmooth; takeagamble27; Anna5949; Konasuki Profitt; Andria Justus Haynie; SomeOddName; Lkityan02; MasterGuildarts; Brandynjayy; Ember Reverie; Ushidenshi; TheElectricLady; mckaylafaith; BearPlusCat; savwafair; ABT4Life; Warhorn101; RedFantasies; Mishy1824; XxCelestialPrincessxX; GothBanshee; animequeen100; Forbidden-Hanyou; Morenoel; aliciacevbra; DaeImagines; vananime and 6 guest reviewers.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Random note: I usually write and listen to a mix of Ed Sheeran and Evanescene in the background, while I was writing the first part of the smut Ed sung Kiss Me, so you might wanna listen to that while you read this.**

The night after the attack, Lucy was quiet, stuck in her own head and only mumbled something unintelligible when Natsu tried talking to her over dinner. This worried the Dragon Slayer, but he didn't push her. If pushed too hard, Lucy had a tendency to lash out and that was rarely pretty... Or painless. His girl was a little hell-cat and Natsu loved that there was so much _fire_ under Lucy's sweet and friendly exterior. She was so damn hot when she showed her claws. Unfortunately, she didn't shy away from using those claws on him, either.

So, for the most part he left her to her thoughts. When Lucy was ready to talk, she'd talk and no moment sooner. He cleaned up after dinner, talked a reluctant Happy into spending the night with Mira and Lisanna and sat outside with a glass of fire whiskey while Lucy took her bath. It was an ordinary night, so why was he feeling like something huge was about to happen?

Well, they could get attacked at any moment, but that wasn't it. He didn't get the tingles that forewarned him of danger like he'd usually do, just a tight feeling in his chest. He couldn't really describe it, he couldn't shake it, either. Anxiety, anticipation and adrenaline all mixed together. It was unsettling.

He didn't get to stew about it for long though, because just as he felt he could pinpoint what the strange feeling was, the door opened and Lucy stuck her head outside.

"Hey, Natsu?" her soft voice shook him out of his stupor and he craned his head back to look at her.

"What's up, Luce?" he grinned and Lucy smiled.

"Why don't you come back inside? It's late, we should get some sleep," she whispered, voice velvet soft and the look in her eyes unreadable.

"Sure," Natsu agreed and jumped to his feet, as always eager to get to bed with Lucy in it. Over the past few weeks he's pretty much grown addicted to having her around him all the time and he doubted he could even function anymore if she wasn't right there beside him. Sleeping beside her was still his favorite thing in the world, and he doubted he would be even able to fall asleep if she wasn't curled up in his arms.

Together, they entered the small house and made their way to the bedroom, holding hands and just enjoying the closeness between them. Living together had cemented things for Lucy. This was it. Natsu was it for her. There was no doubt that she loved him. They were still just kids, 19 was nowhere near being grown up, but what did it really matter? Age is just a number in the grand scheme of things. As wizards they've faced so many things that would make anyone grow up pretty damned fast. It didn't matter if they were 19 or 90, the love they felt for each other wouldn't change, it would only grow.

All her fears and insecurities were unfounded, Natsu had proven that. He's shown her that he cared about her above everything else, that he'd always put her well-being first. That consideration on his part was what finally convinced Lucy's cautious heart that it could trust him. He was Natsu, after all. He'd always put her first. Now it was time that Lucy showed him the feeling was mutual.

It wasn't a one-sided love, anymore. It never was, if she was completely honest. She's started falling for him years ago, but a life fill with loss had held her back. If she lost him, she'd lose herself, so she didn't dare to cross that final line between them, let the love between them bloom. Now, the choice was out of her hands.

Her mind made up, and heart finally calm, Lucy gripped his hand tighter and led him to the bed. When she sat down, still holding on to his hand, Natsu stopped and looked her. Something was different about her. Her eyes were determined as they stared unflinchingly into his and Natsu gulped when she used her grip on his hand to pull him closer. When he was standing between her legs, Lucy leaned forward and Natsu shuddered watching as her lips drew ever closer to his skin. When she finally kissed his quivering abdominals, he almost jumped out of his skin.

Did this mean what he thought it did?

"Luce?" he asked hesitantly and Lucy smiled as she looked up at him.

"Yes, Natsu," she whispered and he felt a shudder run through him. It was finally going to happen.

Lucy, the girl he loved, the one he'd placed as the center of his universe, the person who made up half his soul, was finally going to become truly and completely his. It was almost overwhelming, just thinking about it and Natsu made an effort to just stop. Stop thinking and just _be_. Be in this moment with her and savor it. He would do everything he could to ensure that she enjoyed it as much as possible, but aside from that he'd let everything else disappear. The world and all their problems would still be there tomorrow. For tonight there was just them. The house, the forest, the entire world around them ceased to exist, and only Natsu, Lucy and their feeling for each other were left. That's all that mattered.

When their lips met, all hesitation dissipated. This was right. This was how it was meant to be. Lips only separating when the need to breathe became too strong to ignore, they kissed again and again, until that wasn't enough anymore. Tasting every single perfect inch of her became Natsu's strongest desire and he didn't waste any time drawing her tank-top over her head and discarding it. Lucy didn't protest, she didn't try to hide herself from his gaze either. She just lay there on the bed, looking at him, eyes full of love and trust.

When hot lips engulfed her sensitive nipple, Lucy's back arched as she whimpered and tangled her fingers in his messy pink mane. Natsu didn't think, not at all, he just did what he felt at a specific moment, but watched Lucy closely, seeing even the smallest change of her expression. Listened to each and every sound she made, letting it guide his fingers, his mouth. It wasn't hard to decipher what felt good to her, her expressive face and adorable voice told him everything.

She liked him playing with her breasts so he stayed there for a while, squeezing, stroking, pinching, licking, kissing sucking. She liked it the most when he sucked on her tiny pink nipples, so he did just that, drawing sounds that drove him to the brink of sanity from her throat. Only when she started trembling with desire, and her little sounds escalated did Natsu move on, kissing her ribcage, her soft tummy, licking around her navel.

Her breath hitched and she tensed up slightly when he moved further down, drawing her lacy boy-shorts down her smooth thighs and off her legs. She relaxed again when he started kissing her hips and down her thighs, to her knees where he switched to the other leg and kissed up it. He didn't give her the time to think about it when he lifted her legs up and over his shoulders and buried his face between her thighs.

Her fingers clenched in his hair almost painfully when he started kissing her inner thighs, his breaths tickling her. He knew that she was probably uncomfortable and embarrassed, but Alzack had said that doing this would be the fastest way to get her ready for- well for what came _after. _He didn't really know what to expect either, but was willing enough to do anything as long as it felt good to her. So, he went with it, kissing her outer lips, before gently parting them and having his first look at Lucy's private parts.

Some people referred to it as a flower, and perhaps it did resemble one a little bit, but he really couldn't see it. Oh well, he thought, tracing the inner lips with his fingers and his sensitive nose picked up the new scent. It was different for sure, stronger, sweeter, spicier. He couldn't really describe it, just that it smelled like Lucy only even more so. It was... _delicious_. He couldn't resist swiping his tongue up and down her slit to get a good taste. Lucy jumped and cried out when his tongue moved over the tiny button at the top of her slit.

It wasn't hard to deduce that the little thing was extremely sensitive, and he went with it, licking it, rolling it with his fingers, finally licking it. He didn't let up when Lucy started trashing around on the bed, steadily getting louder as her moans and cries intensified with her pleasure. Her little opening was dripping wet and he pressed his thumb against the button, rubbing fast and hard as his tongue sought out her essence. Almost greedily he drunk from her, his tongue twisting to burrow into the narrow opening, drawing more of her wetness out.

Her taste was addictive and he almost lost himself to the pleasure of it all, when he felt Lucy's thighs twitching against his cheeks. He started paying attention to her again and noticed that her opening was convulsing. She was almost there, almost ready to come, she just needed a little more. So, he slipped two fingers inside, the excessive wetness making it easy, and pumped in out at a fast pace, lips wrapping around her little nub and sucking, hard. That was the push Lucy needed and with a keening sound, her back bowed and Natsu felt her insides squeezing his fingers almost painfully as wetness gushed out. He only stopped his fingers when she relaxed and her slumped back on the bed, breathing labored and twitching every so often. He pressed one last kiss against her outer lips before he moved up her body again, getting distracted by her breasts, and just stayed there until her breathing evened out and he felt her caressing his head and shoulders.

Lifting his head he smiled at her dazed expression and moved to kiss her parted lips. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, drawing him closer, until they were pressed tight against each other, from heads to hips. His erection was pressed against her thigh and Natsu gulped when Lucy parted her legs and wrapped them around his hips.

All that separated his most sensitive parts from her soft warmth was the thin, stretchy fabric of his boxer-briefs. She had yet to even touch him outside of holding him and he was ready to burst. Maybe, he wasn't really ready for this. If he was almost at his limit without Lucy even laying a hand on him, what would happen when she did touch him? He'd surely lose what was left of his mind.

"Natsu," she broke their kiss and they just lay there staring at each other for a few moments. It didn't matter if he lasted or not, Natsu decided. There was no way he was stopping this now. Hell nor high water would be enough to drag him away from Lucy at the moment. If he didn't make it for long, he'd make it up to her. Lucy would understand. She always did, no matter what. This would be no exception.

"Natsu," she whispered again and he focused on her. "I wanna touch you, too."

For a moment, Natsu couldn't react at all. Hearing these words from Lucy was almost too much. How long he'd dreamed of her saying something like that and now she did. And he couldn't let her, not if they wanted things to progress tonight.

"I uh," he stammered, laughing awkwardly. "I don't think that's a good idea, Luce."

Lucy furrowed her brows and pouted her lips, swollen from his kisses. "What? Why not?"

"Uh..." He really didn't know how to say this. "I, um... If you touch me _now_, there's no way this will go anywhere," he finally blurted out, face turning crimson. Damn, he never thought he'd have trouble talking with Lucy about _anything_. Was becoming physical with someone always this awkward? Hopefully, it'll be easier when they became more comfortable with this part of their relationship.

For a long moment, Lucy looked utterly and completely lost and maybe even a little insulted. Natsu could almost see the wheels turning in her mind and it wasn't hard to see when it finally dawned on her what he'd meant and she turned even redder than she already was.

"O-oh," she stuttered out and looked to the side, probably too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

"Yeah," he laughed weakly, but didn't move. He didn't really know what to do now. How do you exactly proceed from this point?

"Natsu?" Lucy called out and he twitched as if she'd startled him.

"Huh?" was all he could get out.

"Um, what now?" she asked hesitantly and he almost groaned. Good question, too bad he had no answers.

"I have no idea," he said bluntly and they just stared at each other for a second before breaking down into laughter.

"Me neither," Lucy gasped through her giggles as they tried to calm their hilarity.

When they could at last stop laughing at their own inexperience, they turned to their sides and just held each other. Lucy leaned her head close to his chest, listening to his heartbeat, while Natsu buried his face in her hair and drowned himself in her scent.

Long moments passed before Natsu's hands started wandering again, caressing her side, sliding down to cup her bottom, giving her a gentle squeeze. Lucy reciprocated, her own hands gliding over his warm skin, lips kissing wherever they could reach. Fire rose up between them again and Natsu gently turned her to her back, rising to kneel between her parted thighs.

She kept her eyes on him, admiring his flawless physique as he finally shed his underwear. Her breath stuck in her throat as she took him in completely. Who would have known she would ever think of a penis as beautiful? But there it was. Natsu really was beautiful, everywhere. And he was all hers. That was a giant boost to her confidence and it also made her heart swell in her chest. Natsu loved _her_. That thought empowered her. She felt as she could do literally _anything. _

Natsu also admired the voluptuous beauty spread before him. Lucy was literally any man's dream. He'd never in his life seen anything as beautiful as her in this very moment. And to think that he'd be the only one who ever saw her like this. He'd never get enough of this, ever.

Once again ceasing to think completely, Natsu scooted forward on his knees, raised Lucy's bottom to rest on his lap and aligned his erection with her opening. Not giving either of them the chance to obsess over it more, he simply pushed inside.

Vigorous physical activity, countless fights had torn her hymen years ago, so there was nothing to tear. There was no significant pain, just a slight pinch when her inner muscles were forced to stretch to accommodate his girth. She grit her teeth and forced herself to relax. When he moved deeper inside, she exhaled and the slight pain dulled further, leaving only uncomfortable fullness behind. First times were always uncomfortable there was no way around it, she knew that. At some point she'd get used to it and it'd feel good, but for now she'd have to tough it out.

Natsu, on the other hand was going out of his mind with pleasure. She was so tight, and hot, and wet. He'd never known anything could feel so good. The few times he'd touched himself to relieve some tension had been nowhere near this. How in the world did guys last when it felt so incredible? He could come just from feeling her inner walls twitching around him. If he moved, it'd be over.

But he had to move. When Lucy fully relaxed under him and he realized that whatever pain she might have felt was at least dulled enough, he pulled out slightly and watched fascinated as his slick member entered her again, just as slowly as before, but easier as muscles relaxed. Okay, there was no way he'd hold out for long.

"Sorry, Luce," he muttered and started a slow rhythm. Pleasure rose from his spine to spread through his entire body, all the way to his fingers and toes. He kept moving slowly, gently, watching Lucy's face, registering when it finally started feeling good for her. She started to move her hips too and that's when things got slightly awkward. They couldn't find a pace that worked for both of them and twisting their hips around resulted in some pain for both of them before they got it and started moving together.

Soon, though Natsu lost balance, and tipped forward, falling on top of Lucy. Quickly pushing himself on his elbows, he looked down at her and grinned when she giggled slightly. Shifting around, he got in a good position again and resumed the slow in and out motion.

Lucy closed her eyes and moaned quietly, enjoying the slight pleasure his movements caused. It wasn't the overwhelming pleasure from when he used his mouth, but it felt good none the less. This went on for some minutes before Natsu groaned above her and started moving faster. Soon after, with a couple of hard thrusts he tensed on top of her and she could feel it as he came inside her. It was a strange feeling, but not bad, just unusual.

Natsu's mind had blanked completely when the pleasure had spiked. He couldn't think of anything but how incredible it felt to make love to Lucy. When he came, all strength left him and he collapsed on top of her, burrowing his face in her neck as he tried to calm his wildly beating heart and his wheezing breaths. It took some time before he got bearings together enough to raise his head and looked at Lucy.

She smiled at him, hands cupping his flushed cheeks to draw him into another kiss. Afterwards, he pulled out of her and grimaced when she winced.

"I need to clean up," she whispered and wriggled out of the bed, slowly limping to the bathroom. Natsu got up as well and put his underwear back on, taking a pair of panties and one of his shirts out of the drawers just as Lucy was coming out. She grinned at him when he handed the items to her and he watched with a smile as she dressed.

When they slipped under the covers, Natsu drew his lover closer, knowing he'd never in his life forget this night. And looking out the window to the full moon and vowed on his fire that he'd protect her no matter what. Nothing and nobody was taking Lucy away from him. Not now, not ever. They'd finally consummated their love, confirmed their bond and all that was left was the mating ceremony itself, to bind them irrevocably together. That could wait a little longer though, the marking would leave them both vulnerable for a few days afterwards, since all their senses would be consumed by the other and their magics would run wild before the completed mating-bond settled for good.

Tomorrow may bring what it wanted, he'd face it, for Lucy he'd face anything.

**AN: This chapter almost didn't make it today, since it got deleted and rewritten at least three times during the week. I'm finally at least somewhat satisfied with how it turned out. I hope it also met your expectations.**

**And that's half the story done. Eight more chapters to go. I'd originally planned to make them confess this chapter, but it didn't feel right, so that got edited out. **

**Next chapter the threat to Lucy intensifies. **

**76 reviews so far, I can't express how much it means to me. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for 90 with this chapter. **

**As always thanks to everyone who reviewed so far: anonymous900; Konasuki Profitt; Firefly9917; TheJSmooth; Anna5949; FireShifter; MasterGildarts; Ushindeshi; EmberReverie; BearPlusCat; Xoxoxoxx; Dark Shining Light; takeagamble27; Andria Justus Haynie; SomeOddName; Brandynjayy; TheElectricLady; mckaylafaith; savwafair; ABT4Life; Warhorn101; RedFantasies; Mishy1824; XxCelestialPrincessxX; GothBanshee; animequeen100; Forbidden-Hanyou; Morenoel; aliciacevbra; DaeImagines; vaneanime and 8 guest reviews. **


	9. Chapter 9

Natsu was an early riser, he'd always been. The fire inside of him surged up the moment the sun peeked over the horizon and woke him up every morning without fail. And once awake, he saw no reason to stay in bed, ready to face the new day and anything it might throw at him at a moment's notice. Natsu was the definition of a morning person, if what his friends said is to be believed. He was also the type of person who went by the motto of resting when he was dead, and living life to the fullest, that meant sleep was a necessary waste of time, only to be indulged in sparingly.

Lucy was the opposite. She liked her sleep and would not get out of her bed until she was good and ready. Some days this meant she was up only minutes after Natsu, others she slept till the early afternoon. Even though cheery and optimistic to a fault, Lucy was _not_ a morning person. In fact, if she was forced to get up before she was ready for it, she was down-right grouchy until she had enough caffeine in her system to battle her sour mood.

That morning, Lucy didn't mind being woken up at crack of dawn. Waking up slowly, swimming up from pleasant dreams to the feel of Natsu's heat against her back, warm lips worshipping her neck, nimble fingers tweaking her nipple, his other hand teasing her womanhood through her panties, Lucy thought might be the best way to wake up. She wouldn't mind waking up like this every morning, no matter how early.

Natsu, too, was enjoying himself immensely. He'd woken as he usually did, rock hard and pressed to Lucy's perfectly rounded behind. This time though, he didn't jump out of the bed the second conscious thought kicked in. Lying there, snug and warm and getting more excited by the second, he decided to do something about it. So, he'd moved Lucy's fragrant hair from her neck to make place for his lips, snuck a hand inside her tank-top and cupped a heavy globe, the other gliding down her soft belly to the warmth between her shapely thighs.

He didn't stop his soft, teasing touches when Lucy woke up. She didn't stop him either. She melted back into him, her small hands reaching for his, just resting there, caressing his skin. He'd taken that as tacit approval to keep going, which he happily did. The new-found intimacy between them was addicting, he couldn't get enough of touching her, and just the mere thought of repeating what happened last night, had him ready to burst.

Lucy, caught up in his touches, was all for a repeat of their previous night's activities. She knew well enough that coming the first time was not something she should be expecting, and she hadn't been disappointed that she didn't come, just happy to finally be on the same page as Natsu. Besides, what he'd given her with his fingers and mouth had been more than enough. And she was ready again. This time, she might even come too.

Both were moving restlessly against the other, panting lightly, but unsure how to proceed. It was Natsu who finally lost patience and tugged on the waistband of her panties, muttering a needy, "Luce."

She didn't hesitate to nod. "Yes, Natsu."

That was all he needed to hear. In seconds he sat up and moved away just long enough to divest them both of their underwear and was back in his previous position in a flash. He lifted her leg and bent it back to hook her foot behind his knee, moving around until he was in position to trust up into her. Lucy cried out and shivered at the feeling, and Natsu bit his lip, tensing up. He didn't dare move. There was no way, he'd ever get used to this, ever get used to that wet, tight, heat closing around him.

Being inside Lucy was the best feeling in the world, but he just wished he could last long enough to truly appreciate it. He would, in time, he knew, but waiting and patience were not his forte, and he wanted Lucy to enjoy having him inside her just as much as he was and he was afraid that wouldn't happen as long as he couldn't get a grip on his control. He'd heard somewhere that it was very hard for a woman to come from just having a man move inside her, the man had to be a very talented lover to accomplish that. A talented lover, he was not. He was clumsy, and over-eager and couldn't really control his pleasure. The only plus he had going for him was that he loved Lucy. He loved her so goddamned much he'd do anything for her, bring her the moon if she only asked it. So, this was something he'd master, sooner or later, he just hoped Lucy didn't get tired of his clumsiness along the way.

He needn't worry, though. Lucy, nerve endings on fire, was finding that doing it the second time, was a different experience altogether. There had still been a little bit of discomfort, especially since her inner muscles had been a little sore from last night, but the fullness wasn't uncomfortable anymore. It felt good, it felt right, like having him inside her was her natural state of being, and she'd be missing something vital if he pulled out.

When he started moving, she discovered that even sore, her inner walls liked being stretched as little pulses of pleasure raced through her. And they kept getting stronger the more he moved. Things were approaching the state she'd been in when he'd been pleasuring her with his fingers the night before. The more he moved, the faster and stronger his thrusts got, the higher did her pleasure climb. Then Natsu moved one of his hand between her legs, fingers grazing against her clit and Lucy emitted a strangled scream, back arching as she ground her hips against his.

Natsu caught on quickly that this felt good to her and kept touching the little pearl, massaging it in tight, fast circles, eyes wide opened and staring at her face, fascinated with her every pleasure expression. She was beautiful, beyond exquisite, and his alone. How the hell did he get so lucky? But he didn't ponder that thought for long, as he felt Lucy's insides twitching and squeezing around him. This was it, what he'd felt when he'd made her come with his fingers last night. Just a little bit more, and she'd be there.

Squeezing his eyes shut on focusing on Lucy, trying to ignore the burning in his loins begging for release, moved faster, his thrusts gaining more power, the finger on her clit never letting up. He wouldn't be able to keep it up much longer, but she was almost there.

And then, she tensed, her golden head digging into the pillow as she turned to almost lay flat on her stomach and he moved with her, never stopping his frenzied thrusts. Small fists clenched into the bedding, entire body tense, Lucy gurgled something intelligible into the pillow as her inner muscled contracted around his, at last snapping his control and he let go of her leg, rooted himself in her and joined her in orgasm.

Afterwards, they lay tangled in each other, breathing labored, both still shivering from probably the most powerful experience in their entire lives. Natsu couldn't think, his mind had been wiped blank and he just rested against his mate in blissful contentment. Lucy still struggling to breath, especially with Natsu's weight pinning her down, was wondering why the hell they hadn't started doing this a lot sooner? Oh, right. _She_ was holding them back. Well, not anymore. If she had anything to say about it, they would be doing this every day, three times a day for the rest of their lives.

"Love you," Natsu murmured, snuggling closer, still deep inside her. Those words didn't scare her anymore. She welcomed them, cherished them, felt elated by hearing them.

"Love you," she whispered back, finally free and ready to say, eager really. He deserved to know. On top her, Natsu shivered, his face rooting around to bury in the back of her neck, face flaming red, heart beating a mile a minute and feeling of happiness he knew would never fade, engulfing him whole. She loved him, his Lucy loved him. He really, truly was the luckiest guy in Earthland.

XxxxxxxxxxX

While Lucy and Natsu basked in their love, another Dragon Slayer and his small mate were buried in piles of books in Fairy Tail's library. They'd been there all night. Gajeel had protested, several times, loudly, but he couldn't convince Levy to go home and get some sleep. Damn Salamander, always getting in his way.

He didn't really mind helping Bunny Girl. Aside from being Levy's friend, the girl was something else. Smart as a whip, strong, outspoken and ballsy. All qualities he admired, case in point his mate. What he'd never admit was that he didn't mind helping Natsu, either. As a fellow Dragon Slayer, Gajeel respected Natsu's power. He also respected his drive and guts. Natsu never gave up without a fight, and when Natsu fought, he did it to win. That was something Gajeel could understand very well. His rivalry with Natsu wasn't about proving who was stronger, at least not when it mattered. It was most friendly fist-cuffs, because they were both guys and Dragon Slayers. Tensions tend to run higher with them, and sometimes the only thing that provided any relief was a good brawl.

Well, until one got mated that is. Afterwards, no fight in the world could mellow Gajeel out like a single kiss from Levy could.

And he was high strung, had been the entire night. The threat on Bunny Girl was something he'd like to get rid of as much as Levy, but not by reading dusty old books. So, he'd given up on it, two books in, had flung his boots-clad feet on the table and balanced his rickety chair on only two legs while he leaned back and stared at the ceiling, occasionally trying to annoy Levy enough to make her march out of the library in an angry huff.

He was contemplating the possibility of getting kicked in a very uncomfortable place if he flung the Solid Script mage over his shoulder and carried her home, when the woman in question let out a loud gasp and bolted out of her chair, throwing her magical glasses aside.

"Gajeel!" she shouted, rounding the table, book in hand and tugged on his shoulder as she passed him. "Come quickly, we have to hurry to Lu-chan and Natsu's place!"

Taken aback by her sudden departure, he attempted to right his chair, lost balance and ended up sprawling on the concrete, and counting stars from the way his head bounced off the hard surface. By the time he got off the floor, Levy was already running out the guild and down the street. He set off after her, catching up to her quickly and both run for the woods at full speed.

He didn't know what she'd found out, but if had spooked her that much it couldn't be good. Whatever was after Bunny Girl was probably a lot more dangerous then they first thought. They really couldn't catch a break, none of them. If the entire guild wasn't targeted for something they couldn't even control, than individual members got themselves into pinches for whatever reasons. At times he relished this, having strong opponents to fight, meant he could get stronger as well. Other times, though, he really hated it. Like now, for instance. He didn't want an all-out war against whatever wanted Lucy, he wanted peace and quiet with his mate. But as his rotten luck would have it, war was the bigger probability. So, he run towards the Salamander's house, trying to decide how to keep Levy out of the fighting... Yeah, not many possibilities there.

XxxxxxxxX

Natsu was washing breakfast dishes, humming to himself while Lucy dusted in the living room, quietly singing some melody he didn't recognize. It really was like a scene from a fairy tale Levy used to read to him when they were kids. He'd never imagined himself having such a life. Not even when Lisanna flat out told him she wanted to be his bride when they grew up. It wasn't until Lucy came into his life that he started thinking about things like settling down and starting a family.

Hmmm, no. It wasn't until they came back from Tenrou Island and he saw the little family Alzack and Bisca had created for themselves that he found himself wanting the same. With Lucy. Bisca and Alzack had made it all seem so easy, too. Two partners, bound by years of camaraderie and trust, falling in love, getting married, blessed with a pretty little girl. Looking at the three of them, he could see himself and Lucy, with a little golden-haired girl in his arms. That's when the mating bond first started, he reckoned.

And now that bond was growing ever stronger and even though she was in another room, he could feel Lucy as if she were standing pressed close to him. Making love had strengthened the bond significantly, and it would continue to grow until they finally completed the ritual and bound themselves together for eternity. They wouldn't develop any new abilities until that happened, so reading and sharing their thoughts was still impossible, but he could read Lucy's mood easily, she was thrumming with happiness. She could probably feel his own elation, and that made him even happier.

He was thinking about whisking his beautiful mate back to their bed, when a loud banging on the door startled them both. He tensed, preparing for a fight, until Levy's voice sounded from outside.

"Lu-chan! Natsu! Open up!"

As one the Dragon Slayer and the Celestial Mage moved towards the door, Natsu flinging it open. Levy and Gajeel barged in, both out of breath, Levy frantic and distraught, Gajeel confused.

Lucy immediately moved to her friend, grabbing the smaller girl's shoulders, as she tried to calm her down. "Levy-chan, what's wrong?"

Levy shook her head and shoved the books in her hands in Lucy's face. "I found it, Lu-chan! I was up all night trying to find anything that might help us identify who's attacking you and why, and I finally found it."

She stopped talking as she tried to catch her breath and Lucy led her to the couch, making her sit and breath till she could talk again. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, Gejeel discovered as he tried to peek into her mind, worry and fear for her friend on the very top of everything.

"I finally found who's targeting you, Lu-chan, and it's bad," Levy announced and everyone in the room tensed.

"What did you find out?" Natsu growled, but Levy couldn't answer before a bright light flashed and Loke summoned himself.

"I'm very interested in hearing this as well," the leonine Spirit commented as he stood beside Lucy with his hands in his pockets.

Shrugging off Loke's sudden arrival, Levy put her book on the table and opened it, leafing through it until she found the page she was looking for. There was a picture of what looked like a group of people in dark robes, gathered around a circle of dark light. Inside the circle was a young woman, naked, spread-eagled on the floor, blood leaking from multiple wounds, and when they looked closer, they saw that the circle itself was made of the 12 Zodiac keys.

A hush fell over the room as they stared at the picture, and each and every one of them, in their minds, saw Lucy inside that dark drawing.

"W-What's this?" Lucy asked finally and Levy looked up to her friend.

"It's a dark cult."

"A cult?" Loke asked. "Like a religious one?"

Levy nodded and pointed at the book. "Exactly. There are reports of this cult that go almost as far back as the origins of magic. Celestial magic is ancient, in fact it's one of the oldest known magics in the world, along with True Heavenly Body magic, which has been believed to have been forgotten until Jellal. Legends say that Celestial beings descended from the Heavens and gave one human family the gift of magic. The male line was given the ability to manipulate the heavens themselves, while the females were made into priestesses, capable of calling the Celestial beings to our world, with the help of magical keys. That's the origin of Celestial and Heavenly Body magic."

All eyes in the room wandered to the Celestial Spirit and Loke shrugged. "That's about it as far as I know. It's not like I was around when that happened."

"You weren't?" Natsu asked incredulous.

"Celestial Spirits can die, too. If they're left too long in the human world, or are hit with something even their celestial bodies couldn't withstand," Lucy mused and Loke nodded.

"Right. I don't know which generation Lion Spirit I am, but I'm not the first one, by a long shot, none of the current Spirits are, not even the King himself."

"How does one even become a Celestial Spirit?" Gajeel asked what everyone had been thinking.

"By dying," Loke shrugged again. "I used to be a human, I don't remember much about it since it was over 2000 years ago. I do know I was a warrior and that I died on the battle-field before I could realize my destiny. At least that's what I was told when they recruited me as Leo the Lion. I was told that I had the courage and nobility of the king of the beasts as a human and that I was fit to be the leader of the Zodiac. I accepted and here I am. But that's all I can tell you, I don't know much more than that."

"Fascinating," Levy muttered, looking at Loke like she wanted to ask him a million questions and he fought taking a step back from the knowledge hungry mage. Both she and Lucy shared the trait of believing that knowledge was power and ignorance wasn't in fact bliss, so when they came across something they didn't already know they devoured any and all information available. But now wasn't the time for that and Levy shook herself from her thoughts.

"Anyway," the petite blue-haired mage diverted everyone's attention again. "As I was saying this cult dates back almost as far as the origin of magic. Sources talk about a group of mages dedicated to the balck arts, attempting over and over to bring hell upon the earth. Zeref and his man-made demons are just a copy of the very, malicious blood-thirsty monsters these guys want to summon. The only way this can be accomplished is by desecrating the Heaven's Keys by the blood of their Priestess. When soaked in the blood of a Celestial mage during this ritual, the Gate Keys absorb the malicious energy and can be used to open the Gates of Hell. Once open these gates won't ever close again. If these guys were to succeed in their ploy, it would mean the end of the world."

**AN: So I was trying to flash out the plot of the remaining chapters today and realized that if I wanted to keep them at 3k there was no way I can wrap the plot up in 7 more chapters. So we're not halfway done yet. Instead of 16 it'll probably be around 20 chapters. **

**Thank you all for your kind words for the lemon in the previous chapter. I agonized over it for a while. While I wanted everything to be absolutely perfect for them, I knew that was unrealistic, so I went with what I knew from personal experience and from what I've heard other people say about their first time and tried to find a balance. It could have gone either way I guess, too awkward to read or too mushy. I'm glad you all seemed to like it, so I decided to throw in a short morning-after lemon too, as a thank you.**

**94 reviews, thank you all so much. 110 for this chapter? I hope I'm not asking too much.**

**As always a huge thank you to all that reviewed so far: **

**ABT4Life; Darkstarempire; Anna5949; JustALittleSociallyAwkward****; Konasuki Profitt; Ember Reverie; FireShifter; MasterGildarts; Ushindeshi; Brandynjayy; CopperDragonGamr; TheJSmooth; savwafair; sazaanoelofse01; anonymous900; Firefly9917; BearPlusCat; Xoxoxoxx; Dark Shining Light; takeagamble27; Andria Justus Haynie; SomeOddName; TheElectricLady; mckaylafaith; Warhorn101; RedFantasies; Mishy1824; XxCelestialPrincessxX; GothBanshee; animequeen100; Forbidden-Hanyou; Morenoel; aliciacevbra; DaeImagines; vaneanime and 10 guest reviews.**


	10. Chapter 10

"So, someone wants to sacrifice me to unleash hell on this world, right?" Lucy dead-panned and her friends winced.

"Yes..." Levy answered tentatively unsure of her best friend's reaction to the news. Lucy wasn't exactly a soft-spoken, gentle-hearted, well-mannered heiress, especially when angered. To say the blonde's temper was volatile would be an understatement.

"Well," she sighed and crossed her arms under her impressive bosom. "I certainly didn't expect this. And talk about bad timing, damn."

"Is timing really what bugs you the most about all this, Blondie?"

Levy shot her mate a frown, but he ignored her, all his attention on the Celestial Wizard.

"What do you want me to say, Gajeel? That I hate this? I do! That I don't deserve to be hunted like an animal just because I'm a Celestial mage? Of course, I don't! But it's happening, no use crying about it. I have no intention of simply giving up and handing them life and keys on a silver platter! They wanna sacrifice me, they'll have to catch me first. And when I say catch, I mean kill, because there's no way I'll let them perform that ritual. And if I'm going down you can bet I'm taking these assholes down with me!"

Beside his Mistress, Loke smirked. He was a prideful creature by nature, being a Lion Spirit and all that, but he'd never been so damn proud of a human before. Having such a strong and confident Mistress sent shivers of pleasure down his spine. "We've got you, Lucy. No one's gonna as much touch you if I and the other Spirits have any say about it."

"Thank you, Loke," she smiled. "I know I can count on you guys to always have my back."

"Just don't get yourself killed," Gajeel muttered and Lucy swung her gaze back to him.

"I don't intend to, Gajeel," she ground out, getting impatient with the Iron Dragon Slayer.

"Yeah," Natsu cut in. "Luce can kick their asses and we're all gonna help her do just that!"

Gajeel raised his hands in surrender before crossing them on his massive chest. "Don't get your panties in a twist, Salamander. All I'm saying is, if Blondie bites the dust, so do you. She may wanna keep that in mind before she goes offing herself to stop them from having any use of her."

"W-what did you just say?" Lucy stammered, suddenly pale as a sheet.

"You're mated, dimwits. If one dies so does the other."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Natsu frantically protested. "We haven't finished the ritual yet! The bond's not complete!"

"Don't matter," the older Dragon Slayer sighed. "At this point, the ritual is more or less a formality. You're mated, you're bound together, body and soul. Nothing breaks the mating bond, not even death."

Lucy, hands cupped over her mouth stared at her friend's mate with eyes wide in horror. "If something happens to me, Natsu is gonna die?" she whispered and would've crumbled to the floor, if Loke's quick reflexes hadn't allowed him to catch her.

"That's the risk of mating," Gajeel answered gravely, well aware of the emotional turmoil the blonde was going through. He wasn't scared for his own life, he never had been, but the thought of Levy dying left him wheezing for breath and with bathing in cold sweat. It's why he'd fought his attraction to her with tooth and nail. It's why he'd nearly killed them both by denying their developing bond for so long. He was a reckless fighter, uncaring if he came out of a fight alive, but when he felt the mating bond starting to develop between him and Levy, he'd started to fear for his own life. Because if he dies, so does she. And if there's one thing Gajeel couldn't stomach, it was the thought of Levy dying. Succumbing to his feelings for her and their bond had been the hardest thing he'd ever done.

So, he could sympathize with Lucy's fear, he could also sympathize with the look of utter terror on the Salamander's face. Natsu wasn't scared for himself, Gajeel didn't need to know his fellow Dragon Slayer as well as he did, to recognize that fact. Natsu was coming to terms with the fact that he was mortal. And that he liked fighting. And that he didn't think twice about going into situations that could end things permanently for him, on a daily basis. He was realizing that his recklessness could kill Lucy. Gajeel knew exactly how he was feeling, so he didn't say a word, he just sat down next to his own shaking mate and wrapped his arm around her. Sometimes, the only thing that could get him through the day was having Levy in his arms. This was such a day.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The guild was silent. Utterly and completely. No one dared to say a word. They all just sat there, staring at table tops, their shoes or hands and tried to think of something, _anything_ that could bring new light into this sudden, very dark situation they found themselves in. They just couldn't find a solution. The threat to Lucy was very real, and while the answer may seem obvious, it really wasn't. Natsu wasn't going to let anyone or anything stop him from protecting the woman he loved. But that meant putting her at risk, because if he got killed than Lucy was going to die, too. Same went for Lucy. Normally, she'd throw herself right into such a fight, just to prove that she wasn't someone you screwed with, but putting herself in danger meant putting Natsu in danger. Neither one was ready to do that.

"What we need right now is Master Mavis," Cana broke the oppressive silence and all eyes landed on her.

"Yeah," Warren sighed in agreement. "But Master Mavis is dead."

Silence descended again, all gazes shifting downwards again.

"Hmm," Master Makarov finally lifted his head and his hard stare fell on the Fire Dragon Slayer. "Natsu, neither you nor Lucy are allowed to participate in this battle. You're gonna stay in one of our safe houses until we take care of the situation. I'll talk to the Council to provide you with some extra protection."

Natsu didn't need to think a second before shooting the offer down. "Not happening, Gramps. I'm gonna protect Luce, and that's final."

"You want to kill Lucy, you idiot?" Grey sneered with a heavy scowl.

"Come on, it's not like I'm that easy to kill. I went up against Zeref and lived, I went up against Acnologia and lived. This puny little group of demon-worshippers won't even be able to touch me, much less kill me," Natsu boasted, fists on his hips.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Freed spoke up from beside Laxus at the bar. "But you only survived your encounter with Zeref because Lucy rewrote the book of E.N.D and healed the very fatal wound he'd inflicted upon you. And you didn't face Acnologia alone. If you had been alone in either situation, you would probably be dead, Natsu."

"He's right," Laxus nodded. "Although this little group is nowhere near the caliber of Zeref or Acnologia, you shouldn't get too full of yourself. Over-confidence can and will get you killed."

"I understand you wanting to protect Lucy, Natsu," Mirajane started. "But you should consider the consequences."

"Lucy wants to fight her own battles," Lisanna threw in. "But she's not gonna risk your life to prove something."

"I know, okay?!" Natsu exploded, throwing his arms up in the air. "I get it! But I can't just sit around and do nothing! Lucy is my mate! It's my duty to protect her! I can't just... I can't..." he trailed off and his head dropped. Lucy stepped up to him and drew him into a hug.

"It's okay, Natsu," she whispered into his hair as she cradled his head to her. "We're gonna figure something out. We always do."

All eyes rested on the embracing couple and felt their pain. It wasn't fair. They'd just gotten together, just found out about the mating bond and started something wonderful and fate was throwing this at them. It really wasn't fair. If anyone deserved some peace and quiet it was those two. But they couldn't even figure out their own relationship in peace, couldn't even enjoy their budding love before the next threat against their lives arose. Why did all the really crappy things always happen to the best people?

"There really is only one option," Erza spoke for the first time, walking closer to the couple and clasping both their shoulders. "Neither one of you can fight this time. I understand you want to, but the risk is too great, you have to understand that."

Before Natsu or Lucy could retort, a bright light illuminated the room and Loke suddenly stood in the circle.

"I did some research in the Spirit World," he stared before anyone could ask anything. "This group has been going after Celestial Spirit mages for centuries. The only reason they never succeeded in their plans is because there's a certain time-window to do the ritual in, or it won't work. It has to be done during a lunar eclipse. They never managed to get their hands on all 12 Zodiac keys in time. Now, things are a bit different. Lucy has 10 of the keys and Yukino of Saber Tooth has the remaining two. If they can get the two of them, they'll have all they need to open the gates of hell. And a lunar eclipse is only two weeks away. Soon, they'll start getting desperate, and that means more dangerous."

"Lunar eclipse," Lucy murmured, having let go of Natsu when Loke appeared. "That makes the time-frame for the ritual extremely small. A full lunar eclipse only lasts for about two hours. Blood moon, figures that something sinister like opening the gates of hell would require that."

"I don't even know what a lunar eclipse is," Natsu complained with a confused look on his face.

"It's when the Earth, the moon and the sun are completely aligned, so that the Earth totally blocks the sun. Which means that the only light reflected off the moon is the light of the Earth's atmosphere. It's a lot dimmer than when the moon reflects the sun's light. And it also makes the moon appear red, hence it's called the blood moon. It can only happen on a full moon's night though," Lucy explained patiently and more than one person stared at her in awe.

"You really do know everything, don't you Luce?" Natsu marveled and his mate blushed as she tried to the embarrassment. For some reason, Natsu complimenting her in front of other people made her terribly shy. It was a new experience and she didn't really like it, so she chose not to say anything.

"They could attack any moment, if they only got two weeks to capture Lucy and gather the keys. Not to mention that the extremely small time window to do the actual ritual. They'll want to get to a safe location that's easy to defend and hard to find so they won't get interrupted, which means they'll need to get Lucy and the keys well before the night of the ritual as it may require a long journey to wherever their hideout is," Erza started. "This is no time for arguments, Natsu. Get over yourself and think only of Lucy's safety. The safe house it is," she raised her hand and stopped Natsu's protest with a glare. "No arguments. We also need to contact Saber Tooth, Yukino is an as much danger as Lucy, we need to warn Sting to put her in a safe house as well."

Grey pulled out a communication lacrima and started walking away. "I'll get on it."

Erza nodded and continued talking. "We need to contact Crime Sotciere. Jellal could also be in danger, for all we know. He should at least be informed of the threat, so he can take precautions."

"I'll call Meredy," Juvia offered and started after Grey.

"Princess Hisui is also a possible target, unlikely, but we shouldn't leave any lose ends," Erza continued and this time Laxus left the room.

"I'll contact the palace."

"Mest, please get in contact with the council about a possible guard for Lucy and Natsu," Master Makarov spoke and Mest moved to do his bidding. "Erza, you, Mirajane, Grey and Laxus escort Natsu and Lucy back to their house to pack whatever they'll need for two weeks away. Meanwhile, I'll have the safe house in the mountains prepared for them. Reedus will take care of transportation."

Soon the entire guild hall was alive with movement, people coming and going, preparing whatever needed to be done to protect their nakama.

Natsu and Lucy, along with their body guards went back to their little sanctuary in the woods and started packing. It wasn't the way they wanted to do things, but they had no other choice.

To protect the other they had to protect themselves first. It wasn't easy for either of them to just let their friends take care of everything while they hid away. They always fought their own battles, and sitting this out felt so very wrong. But they saw no other possibilities. Natsu couldn't risk Lucy's life simply because he wanted to fight the bastards that wanted to harm her. They would need to take Lucy alive, but they wouldn't hesitate to kill him, they wouldn't know that killing him would kill Lucy as well.

Their attackers so far had been almost laughably weak, but there were no guaranties that they wouldn't send out stronger people, especially with the night of the lunar eclipse getting ever closer. Their next assailants might as well be stronger than him. They really had no idea what they were dealing with, after all. An unknown enemy is a deadly one, even Natsu knew that.

He felt weak and helpless, unable to protect his mate at such a crucial situation. It was driving him crazy. His every instinct was screaming at him to rip to shreds anyone that endangered his Lucy, and that was exactly what he couldn't do. It wasn't so much that he couldn't fight, which bothered him the most, but that he couldn't protect Lucy as he's always done. He'd never imagined that a time would come where he'd be helpless to do anything without putting her in further danger. He'd gladly die for her, but that wasn't an option. It would be pointless if she died with him.

He agonized over how the hell this was all going to work if they were both too scared to get into a fight because they could potentially put the other in danger. This wasn't the last dangerous situation they'd be in, after all. They were Fairy Tail wizards, danger seemed to find them at every corner, him especially. Okay, so, a lot of the time he went in search of danger himself, but that wasn't the point. They had to do jobs if they wanted money. The more dangerous a job the better the pay. That was the way of their world. If they couldn't do dangerous jobs, they wouldn't be able to live, at least not on the standard they're used to. Members of the guild who were only able to take low-level jobs didn't have it easy. Natsu had seen how Jet and Droy, Max, Warren, Nab and a few others lived.

He'd never had to worry about having enough food money because with the jobs he's been taking he always earned more than enough. That's why he owned his house, he had no trouble getting enough money together to buy. And Lucy might think that her 70000 jewel a month room was a steal, but she hadn't seen where some of the others lived. Girls had it especially hard, Fairy Hills was expensive, and some of the girls couldn't even get the 70000 a month for a room like Lucy's. Severally limited options led them to live in downright shabby rooms with no amenities at all. He and Lucy wouldn't have to worry about that because they had his house, but things would still change drastically if they suddenly started earning less money. He couldn't imagine not eating as much as he wanted when he wanted, couldn't imagine Lucy not buying the clothes or books she liked. He'd a definite failure as a mate if he couldn't provide Lucy with everything she needed to make her life comfortable.

Thoughts of their future kept him occupied as they went back to the guild hall and were loaded into a carriage Reedus produced with his magic. Not even the motion-sickness he got as soon as they started moving could calm his thoughts. He kept thinking over and over how he was going to make all of this work. Lucy was worried about him, he could feel it, but he couldn't do anything to calm her. He couldn't tell her what he was thinking about, he'd never let her worry about things like money, not ever. He'd figure it out, one way or another. Even if it meant sitting down with Gajeel when this whole mess was over.

The Iron freak was mated to Levy, after all. Both of them went out on jobs, together and separately. They lived in a nice house, and he'd never once heard Levy say that she couldn't buy some book she wanted because they were tight on money. So, they'd figured out how to do things. Hopefully Gajeel would tell him without making too big a fuss over it.

Consumed in his thoughts, Natsu was completely unprepared when the carried they were in lurched suddenly and started tipping sideways. Luckily Grey, Erza and the others were more alert and managed to get them out before it went off the treacherous mountain path.

Once on solid ground, Natsu got his bearings and snarled. They were surrounded. Lucy's pursuers had found them. _So much for that safe-house, Gramps_, he thought, channeling fire to his fists. Nobody would harm his Lucy, nobody. With that thought, Natsu charged.

**AN: I'm sorry if this chapter feels a little rushed, I typed it in like under two hours. Next chapter the pace is gonna pick up a bit more, since the main part of the action is getting started. **

**104 reviews, 86 favorites and 157 followers so far, thank you all so much. I can't express how happy I am that you all seem to like this so much.**

**As always, a huge thank you to all that reviewed so far: SazHearT; ABT4Life; Anna5949; FireShifter; MasterGildarts; Darkstarempire; savwafair; Ushindeshi; Ember Reverie; JustALittleSociallyAwkward; Konasuki Profitt; Brandynjayy; CopperDragonGamr; TheJSmooth; suzaanoelofse01; anonymous900; Firefly9917;cBearPlusCat; Xoxoxoxx; Dark Shining Light; takeagamble27; AndriaJustusHaynie; ****SomeOddName; TheElectricLady; mckaylafaith; Warhorn101; RedFantasies; Mishy1824; XxCelestialPrincessxX; GothBanshee; animequeen100; Forbidden-Hanyou; Morenoel; aliciacevbra; DaeImagines; vaneanime and 11 guest reviews.**


	11. Chapter 11

When Natsu charged at their enemies the fight that broke out was ferocious. There was no other way to phrase it. They were grossly outnumbered even with Mira and Laxus there to help. Each of them had at least 5 or 6 opponents and Lucy tried to calm her roiling stomach as sounds of fighting filled the previously still of the mountain evening. She had no time to worry about the others, the moment they caught sight of her, all the masked man seemed to come at her at once.

"Leave Luce alone, you bastards!" Natsu's enraged roar rung through the air as he jumped into the fray and scattered their enemies. But he couldn't keep them all off her, this became clear when three managed to draw him away and proceeded to keep him busy. The rest quickly moved towards Lucy again.

They were stopped once more when thunder laced the skies and lightening rained down on them. "You're not taking Blondie on my watch!" Laxus growled and tried to engage as many of the opposing mages as he could, but there were more than any of them could handle alone. Mira and Erza had been driven even further away than Natsu and Lucy could see that both women were having trouble keeping up with the attacks continuously coming at them. It was clear that this was vastly different from the previous attempts. These guys were a hell of a lot stronger than the last group and they were getting desperate.

Lucy quit wasting time, and summoned Sagittarius and Scorpio, those two fought long range and she wanted to keep the creeps after her blood as far away from herself as possible. She didn't need to say anything to her Spirits, they immediately positioned themselves close to her and tried to keep away anyone who tried to get closer. It was a good tactic. Both Scorpio and Sagittarius were excellent shots and the enemies had no prayer getting through the blasts of sand and rain of arrows. Donning her Sagittarius Star Dress, Lucy drew her bow as well. Time to get serious.

She tried to keep an eye on her friends through the battle going on, but kept losing sight of them. The only one she could see at any time was Mira who was flying above their heads and striking anything that moved. Soon enough she also saw Erza taking flight in her Black Wing armor, swooping down on the masked men like a bird of prey...

Almost groaning at her own stupidity, Lucy paused her own arrows to summon Aquilla. Bird's eye perspective was always a bonus in such fights. The Celestial Eagle appeared in a flash of light and grabbed Lucy's shoulders in his huge talons, effortlessly lifting her up and out of immediate danger. This allowed her other Spirits to move around and attack the ever approaching enemies more directly.

Three gates open. Her magic was dwindling quickly, but she could take one more gate. One more Zodiac Spirit, that may just give them the edge. But before she could even reach for Loke's key something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. One of Natsu's opponents had managed to get in the Dragon Slayer's blind spot. She couldn't warn him nor could she get there fast enough, even flying with Aquilla. There was no choice.

Her fingers found the silver key and she raised it high, shouting, "Open! Gate of the Shield Constellation! Scutum!" and pointed towards Natsu.

With a flash of golden light Natsu was surrounded with a dome made of transparent stars. Scutum was impenetrable, the ultimate defense. There was no attack, magical or physical that could break through it. This Lucy had tested thoroughly after acquiring the key. It withstood an attack from Erza's Giant Armor, Natsu's roar and Gray's Ice Bazooka. It only faded when her magic was gone. Erza's Adamantine Armor was a joke compared to Scutum.

And the dark mage who just launched an attack at Natsu from behind him got to feel Scutum's special ability on his own skin. The pure light energy Scutum was made of absorbed any and all kind of magic and sent it back where it came from. And so Natsu stayed safe inside Scutum and his attackers got a nasty surprise when the attacks aimed at him hit them instead.

Five bastards down. Unfortunately, that was all her magic could take, Scutum took a lot to stay out, especially when repelling attacks. With a shower of sparks it disintegrated, going back to the Spirit World. She had enough to keep her other Spirits out for a bit longer, but if the fight dragged on any more, she'd be out in the middle of it.

The others seemed to be nearing their limits as well... Everyone except Natsu, that is, whose reserves of magical energy were nearly limitless and growing. Lucy shot down as many of the enemies as she could get before she had to let go of her Star Dress, a couple of minutes later she also had to close one of the gates. "Aquilla, put me down now, please, I have to close your gate, I'm almost out of energy."

"Very well," agreed the humongous bird before he gently lowered her to stand on her feet behind Scorpio and Sagittarius.

Scorpio turned towards her and assessed her with knowing eyes. Their connection was strong enough that he felt her energy faltering every now and then. "How much longer?" he asked quietly and Lucy shook her head.

"I don't know, maybe 5 minutes, 10 if we're lucky."

Scorpio nodded and turned to Sagittarius. "We're gonna step it up a bit, dude. Lucy's running out of juice."

Sagittarius only inclined his head once, as sign that he'd understood and intensified the barrage of arrows. He was shooting at least 5 at once, and not one went astray. Scorpio likewise, poured more energy into his attacks, the small, concentrated blasts of sand, becoming bigger and faster. They wouldn't be able to keep it up for long, Lucy knew. Their magic run out much faster in the human world than in their own.

A commotion to her left, turned her attention to Gray who was out of breath and barely holding himself up, she couldn't see any serious injuries, so he was likely just exhausted. He pulled himself together one last time and took down five dark mages with his Ice Geyser. He collapsed afterwards and Lucy run towards him, unwilling to let him just lie there defenseless, even if she couldn't do anything to defend him either.

To her immediate right, Erza requipped into Heaven's Wheel and took down ten opponents. That was it for her as well, her armor disappeared and she fell to the ground with a heavy thump, making Lucy wince. But the red-head pulled herself together and sat up, looking around with lucid if tired eyes.

"You okay there, Erza?" Lucy called out and winced again when the drain on her magic became painful. She was running on fumes.

The Knight nodded and crawled closer to the Celestial and Ice wizards. Even out of magic and weakened, they had a larger chance of fending off attacks in groups. A couple of minutes later, Mira descended from the skies and dropped the last few inches in a dead-faint. Luckily though, Lucy noted, the numbers of their enemies were way down, too. Natsu and Laxus should be able to take care of it. They would have to because Lucy felt her own magic sputter one last time before it died and she kept herself awake through sheer willpower. Scorpio and Sagittarius were forced back into their own world.

Laxus jumped over to their huddle and stood at their backs, going into defense as the last of the enemies made a last effort to capture Lucy. Not on Natsu's watch though. The Fire Dragon Slayer finally lost all patience and charged at remaining dark mages, mowing them down one by one with flaming fists. When only three were left standing, Natsu squared off, and with only a heavy scowl released and huge roar towards them. With that the fight was finally over.

"You okay, Luce?" her mate asked instantly running to her side and checking for injuries.

"I'm okay," she murmured and leaned into his welcoming arms. She wasn't able to fight the pull of unconsciousness much longer and blacked out, well aware that the man holding her would never let anything harm her.

Erza groaned as she took in the situation. Three of them were out of commission, she was barely holding on herself and Natsu and Laxus would be hard pressed to fight and protect them if any more enemies came at them. The situation was dire... In fact, it got even worse, when Laxus plopped down beside Mira and exhaled loudly. "I'm done for. My magic is nearly out."

Just great. They were sitting ducks on a mountain trail, unable to press forward to the safe house with the carried Reedus drew for them destroyed and unable to return to Magnolia for the same reason. Natsu couldn't carry all six of them, and she and Laxus wouldn't be able to walk on their own, much less carry someone.

Erza was blearily trying to think of a plan when a flash of light alerted them to Loke's presence.

"Loke, what...?" Natsu stuttered out as he stared at the Lion Spirit.

"I'm gonna take Lucy to the Spirit World," Loke said, already bending down to gather Lucy in his arms, Natsu not protesting on the account of not actually grasping the situation just yet. "There's a place that's gonna re-charge her batteries in a flash. Then I'm gonna teach her how to get you guys out of here. Just hang on for a little while longer."

With that he was gone again with Lucy in tow.

"What just happened?" Natsu asked with a stupefied look on his face. Erza sighed and attempted to hoist herself to her feel on wobbling legs.

"Let's first get out of here. We really shouldn't be sitting out on the middle of the road, especially if those jerks decide to come back." With more effort than she would ever admit to taking, she finally managed to stand upright and dragged herself and a still unconscious Mira to the shrubs off the left side of the road. Laxus followed after her, awkwardly shuffling Grey with him. Natsu run after them, still largely confused.

"But where did he take Luce? And why?" asked the Dragon Slayer and Laxus exhaled, thumping down beside Mira and Erza after leaning Grey against a tree.

"To the Spirit World, dimwit. Said something about getting her energy levels back up. Though how juicing Blondie back up is gonna help us, I couldn't tell you," shrugged the muscular blonde, and shifted on the floor, trying not to look that every muscle and every bone seemed to scream in pain with every movement.

"Luckily, I can answer that," Loke's voice preceded his appearance in a flash of light as both he and Lucy materialized before their friends again.

"Luce!" Natsu shouted and grabbed his mate, squeezing the living daylights out of her. "Where were you?"

"In the Spirit World," Loke answered for his Mistress. "There's something called the Well of Stars, I took her there. Spending just a minute soaking in that water, brings your energy right back. It's how Celestial Spirits heal so fast, the water does that, too. And since Celestial mages and Celestial Spirits use the same magic, it helped Lucy as well."

Erza smiled wryly at him. "I don't suppose you'd take us there as well?"

Loke just shook his head and adjusted his shades. "Unfortunately, even if I could, it wouldn't help any of you. Your magic is too different from ours."

"You still haven't explained why you took Blondie there, though," Laxus grumbled, having for a brief moment hoped that this magic water would rid him of the helpless feeling of empty magic reserves.

"Because Lucy is the only way any of you are getting back to the guild tonight."

It was Lucy's turn to be confused. "What do you mean, Loke? How can _I_ can get us all back to the guild?"

Loke sighed and raked a hand through his carefully tousled mane. "There's many things about being a Celestial wizard you still don't know, Lucy. And that's partially my fault. At the level you are now, you should know all of these tricks, not mention be able to do them effortlessly, and had your mother lived to train you, you would have. _I_ should have taught you everything a long time ago, but there was always some emergency getting in the way. Now's maybe not the best timing to teach you anything, but it's the only hope you have."

"Okay," Lucy sighed and swallowed the million questions she wanted to ask. "_What_ exactly are you going to teach me that can get us out of here?"

"Remote gate opening. Double or triple gates. Portals. That's just the beginning, the rest we'll get to when the danger is over."

"Damn, I really should have researched Celestial magic more. I have no idea what you're talking about," Lucy admitted, face red in shame. She prided herself in her knowledge and here she was, forced to admit that what she knew of her own powers was woefully little.

"Like I said, it's mostly my fault. I knew you were Layla Heartfilia's daughter and I knew she died when you were a little girl. I knew she wouldn't have been able to teach you much before she passed on. I should have stepped up and trained you."

"Let's agree that we're both at fault and leave it at that. I could have taken the initiative and asked for training, it just never occurred to me, which in hindsight is pretty stupid," Lucy smiled and Loke couldn't help but smile back. "Okay, Master Leo, teach away," she teased with a wink and he chuckled a little.

"First of, as I said, remote gate opening. It's pretty straight forward. You open a gate not in your vicinity, but miles and miles away. It's actually one of the first things a Celestial wizard learns," Loke slipped easily into teacher mode and Lucy listened attentively. "The best way to learn is to do. So, take Virgo's key, envision her gate opening up on that tree," he pointed to a huge bough just barely visible in the distance. "Now, go ahead, summon her."

Lucy was somewhat familiar with the concept, having already summoned her Spirits where she wanted to be, like earlier during the battle, when she summoned Scutum to Natsu's side. Of course, she never thought about summoning her Spirits to somewhere she wasn't even near, but she could see how it could be useful. Really useful, actually. She gripped Virgo's key and concentrated on the tree in the distance.

"Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"

The gate opened above the bough and Virgo landed nimbly on a branch and waved. "Well done, Princess!" she shouted. "Got it right on the first try!" Her job done, Virgo closed her gate and disappeared.

"Excellent, Lucy," Loke nodded with a smile. "All you have to do to summon a Spirit anywhere in the world is envision the place you want to open the gate in, and that's it. Ages ago during magic wars, Celestial wizards were used for recon missions, all thanks to the ability of remote gate opening. Next up is double gate opening and creating portals. This is a little bit trickier. First, summon Virgo again, please."

Lucy complied and Virgo bowed to her as she appeared again in a flash of light.

"Now, Lucy, you must open Virgo's gate again, without closing it first. Instinctually, you'll want to close the gate first to open it again. Beat that back. Concentrate of opening the gate twice over, visualize two gates opening at the same time. Try it out."

Gulping, Lucy nodded and closed her eyes. She saw Virgo's gate in her mind's eye and then forced herself to see am identical gate a few feet away. Keeping that image firmly in mind, she drew up on her magic. "Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"

Shocked exclamations coaxed her clenched eyes open and she stared at two shining gates open a few feet apart, white blinding light between them.

"You're a natural, Princess," Virgo complimented with a smile. "I have never seen a Celestial wizard get it right on the first try."

"Neither have I," Loke grinned at her. "But then again, you've always been at a different level compared to all the other Celestial wizards."

Lucy glowed at the praise and her friends oohed and aahed at the spectacular magic being created right in front of them.

"That's a portal, Lucy," Loke pointed out, standing by the open gates. "Celestial mages don't need teleportation to go places. They can open portals. And that's your ticket home. Close the gates. Open Virgo's gate in the Fairy Tail guildhall. Open a second gate here, and you can all go home. Go ahead, just keep a picture of where you want the gates to open in mind."

Determined to get this right and get her friends home, Lucy closed Virgo's gate and concentrated on opening it again in the guild. She knew she'd succeeded when she felt Virgo's magic resonate in this plain and focused even harder to open the second gate in front of her. This was way harder than opening two gates just feet apart, and consumed a lot of her magic but she refused to give up. This was something she should have known how to do ages ago. Biting her lip till it bled, she focused solely on the two gates and making them both open in their respective places.

When she opened her eyes again, Virgo walked out of the second gate and bowed. "May I take everyone home? One by one, please."

Lucy smiled and stood aside as Laxus carefully deposited Mirajane in Virgo's arms and the Maid Spirit walked into the portal, coming back seconds later and shouldering Grey before disappearing from sight again. Natsu went last and he grinned at Lucy over his shoulder. "You're even more kickass than I thought you were, Luce!"

Pride surged through her and felt her love for him swell even more. It was decided. As soon as this whole thing was over and done with she and Loke would be spending some quality time together and he was going to teach her absolutely everything her knew.

With that resolution firm in her mind, she gripped her faithful Lion's hand tightly and walked through Virgo's gate straight into the welcoming embrace of her guild.

**AN: First of, I need to apologize for the delay in updates. I was on vacation for three weeks and I was also working on hammering out the plot for after this threat is over. This chapter is the turning point. I have a very firm image of where I want to take Lucy after this. I hope you all stick with me and NaLu through the adventures of their lifetime.**

**Please let me know your thoughts on where this is going. **


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